Chinese top foreign property buyers in ROK  

(ECNS) -- Chinese people have emerged as the largest group of foreign buyers of real estate in the Republic of Korea (ROK), according to a report released Sunday by local media.

The overseas house-buying spree initiated by Chinese housewives has swept the world, and the ROK, with its favorable investment immigration policy, has emerged as a fresh destination for Chinese property buyers.

Official statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, buyers from China acquired a total of 5.70 million square meters of land in South Korea.

According to an ROK immigration policy launched in 2010, foreigners who invest at least 500 million South Korean Won (461,000 US dollars) in leisure properties on Jeju Island can be granted permanent residency. The policy has attracted huge amounts of investment from China.

As of March this year, the land area acquired by Chinese people on Jeju Island has jumped from 9,000 square meters in 2010 to 485,000 square meters.