Sejong City’s commercial vacancy rate is the highest in the country… Medium to large-sized shopping malls 29.7%

The vacancy rate for mid- to large-sized commercial buildings is 29.7%... 3 out of 10 are empty

(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Byun Seon-jin = Sejong City's commercial vacancy rate was found to be the highest among 17 cities and provinces nationwide, exceeding 20% alone.

According to data submitted by the Korea Real Estate Board by Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, on the 28th, the vacancy rate of general shopping malls in Sejong in the second quarter of this year was 22.79%, which was 9.43 percentage points (p) higher than the national average (13.36%).

Even compared to Daegu (17.84%), which ranked second in vacancy rate, there was a difference of nearly 5% points. Chungbuk (17.43%), Gyeongbuk (16.66%), and Gwangju (16.50%) followed.

Sejong's general commercial vacancy rate rose 7.23%p in five years from 15.56% in the first quarter of 2021, reaching the highest level since 2021.

In particular, the vacancy rate for mid- to large-sized commercial buildings was recorded at 29.68%, up 11.33 percentage points from the first quarter of 2021 (18.35%).

The vacancy rate of the first floor commercial area, which is considered the core of the commercial district, was 11.12%, which was 1.7 times the national average (6.68%).

However, the vacancy rate of small commercial buildings decreased by 1.86% points from 10.89% to 9.03% during the same period.

Meanwhile, the vacancy rate of general shopping malls in Daejeon rose from 13.14% in the first quarter of 2021 to 13.37% in the second quarter of this year, and in South Chungcheong from 13.54% to 14.13%.

Rep. Hwang emphasized, “Vacancy statistics should not only show the phenomenon, but also serve as basic data to identify changes in commercial districts and policy demands in a timely manner,” and added, “More detailed analysis and response are needed so that policies to support small businesses and restore the people’s livelihood can work in accordance with the actual people’s livelihood situation.”