In 2024, the Bank of Korea started cutting interest rates to spur growth in South Korea. This year, the nation elected President Lee Jae-Myung to office. What headwinds and tailwinds exist in South Korea for institutional real estate investors as a result? In August, Institutional Real Estate Asia Pacific senior editor Dr Jennifer Molloy spoke with three experts on South Korea, and their responses are collected below. The Q&A includes Pamela Ambler, head of investor intelligence, Asia Pacific, at JLL; Scott Choi, managing director, head of Korea, real estate and data centres, with Actis; and Dong Hun Jang, senior adviser of Yulchon and the former CIO of South Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association known as POBA.

What is your outlook for South Korea’s economic health, given anticipated monetary and fiscal policy? What indicators should institutional investors be watching?