Landlordised Capital: Rentier Capitalism in South Korea and Transformation of corporate's real estate strategy

Abstract

In Korean society, real estate has been a survival strategy for families and individuals, serving as a means of wealth accumulation. As Korea's middle class urbanised, they learned that owning property was a survival strategy for their families. This study highlights a shift beyond households, emphasizing that corporations also actively pursue wealth accumulation through real estate. While real estate profiteering has altered wealth accumulation for the dominant class, the dynamics of how capital generates profits through real estate remain understudied.

This study argues that it is important to see how 'capital' and 'real estate' combine in the context of rentier capitalism. In particular, with the recent changes in capitalism, capital no longer only creates value in the realm of production, but also seeks to accumulate through property. Capitalists and landlords are chemically combined, and the 'landlordisation of capital' is underway. Additionally, the study emphasizes the dynamic nature of capital's utilization of real estate, considering factors such as a company's real estate location, its role as a production factor, and its function as an asset or commodity—all interconnected.

Reinterpreting a company's space as real estate, this study explores the dynamic process through which companies accumulate capital via property. The research focuses on two themes: First, I examine the changes in capital due to the growth of the real estate sector. Second, I examine how the different attributes of space interact and affect the process of capital accumulation. The research takes place in South Korea and uses firm and spatial data.