Abstract

This paper analyzes the extent and process of housing financialization in South Korea to explore the nature of Korean residential capitalism. A strand of research on residential capitalism has investigated how housing stratification, led by housing financialization, has arisen as a new driver of inequalities in capitalism. In order to apply the discussion on residential capitalism to Korean society, this research conducted two analyses. First, through time-series analysis, we identified the financial market’s dominance over the housing market, which we suggest as the significant feature of housing financialization. Grounded on Vector Auto-Regression model and variance decomposition analyses, we demonstrated that the explanatory power of interest rate is higher than those of housing market-related variables in the low-interest era after the end of 2008. In doing so, we found that housing financialization has proceeded in South Korea. Secondly, considering the relatively suppressed housing finance system of South Korea, it is necessary to examine the unique mechanism of Korean housing financialization. The global trend of housing financialization features the increase of homeownership by expanding mortgages, which we call ‘the financialization of housing residence’. In contrast, housing financialization has continued in South Korea, even after the strengthened mortgage regulation in recent days. This study reveals that the rapid expansion of loans to ‘Cheonsei’, the unique tenure system in South Korea, has brought about and continued ‘the financialization of housing investment’ even in restrictive mortgage conditions. In sum, both universal and distinctive characteristics of housing financialization, the financialization of housing residence and housing investment, have appeared in Korean society. We captured the different mechanisms of Korean housing financialization from international tendencies, as well as the universal nature of housing financialization in South Korea. The findings have significance as they would provoke the discussion on Korean residential capitalism.