Seoul apartment prices have reached their highest level ever relative to worker wages, with employees now needing to save their entire salary for 26 years to afford an average unit in the capital.
According to an analysis of Korea Real Estate Board and Ministry of Employment and Labor data released Monday by Rep. Lee Jong-wook of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the average sale price of a Seoul apartment stood at 1.31 billion won ($950,000) as of February.
That figure represents 312 times the average monthly wage of 4.205 million won recorded last year. The ratio matches the peak seen in December 2021 under the Moon Jae-in administration, when apartment prices reached 1.15 billion won against monthly wages of 3.689 million won.
"Ordinary citizens' incomes have barely grown while housing prices have soared due to the government's failed real estate policies, pushing the dream of homeownership further away," Lee said. "The government must quickly revise its anti-citizen, anti-market policies so that hardworking people can live without housing insecurity."
Rent burdens have also intensified. Average monthly rent for Seoul apartments hit 1.51 million won in February, up 11.9% from 1.35 million won a year earlier, according to the Korea Real Estate Board.
The figure marks the first time Seoul rents have exceeded 1.5 million won, after surpassing 1.4 million won in April last year and rising without interruption since. The amount now equals 36% of the average monthly wage, meaning more than one-third of workers' income goes directly to housing costs.
The rental surge stems largely from tightened lending regulations that have made home purchases more difficult, driving demand into the jeonse market. With jeonse supply shrinking, the shift toward monthly rentals has accelerated.
Among districts, Songpa recorded the steepest rent increase, with average monthly payments reaching 2.09 million won in February—up 36.6% year-on-year. The district has attracted steady demand from office workers due to its relatively lower deposits compared to Gangnam and Seocho while offering strong school districts and transportation access.
In absolute terms, Yongsan led with average rents of 2.69 million won, followed by Gangnam at 2.67 million won and Seocho at 2.62 million won. Meanwhile, areas including Jungnang recorded rents below 1 million won at 900,000 won, highlighting stark regional disparities.
Experts forecast the trend toward monthly rentals will persist for some time, driven by declining jeonse inventory, interest rate pressures and tax policy effects.
"The strong rental market will continue for a while due to loan regulation burdens and social factors like jeonse fraud," said Yang Ji-young, a premier pathfinder specialist at Shinhan Bank. "We may see housing arrangements bifurcate into either homeownership or monthly rentals."