Abstract
The Korean real estate market has represented a relatively risk- averse and traditional means of wealth creation for everyday Korean domestic and non-domestic global investors. As evidence, real estate property prices in Korea have increased an average of 22.39% from 1990 to 2004. The Republic of Korea has received much scrutiny from academics and practitioners since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Specifically, Korea’s economic woes during the crisis were widely attributed to the country’s state-dominated economic policies and crony capitalistic behavior, often being referred to as “Korea, Inc.” Since 1997, however, the Korean government has taken purposeful steps towards liberalizing its economy and giving greater attention to issues of transparency, restructuring of the large Korean conglomerates (known as chaebol), and giving greater deference to free-market principles.