New KAB President Kim Hak-kyu delivers his inaugural speech as he took office as the 15th CEO of the board at the KAB headquarters in Daegu on March 26. (Photo: KAB)

Korea Appraisal Board (KAB) announced the outcomes of a survey into “officetels” across the nation as an official stat approved by the Statistics Korea (KOSTAT). The board said on April 2 it will make public officetel prices, jeonse and monthly rent price movements from the first quarter of this year. 

Officetels are multi-purpose buildings with residential and commercial units.

As one- or two-member households and officetels, alternatives to housing units, emerging as replacement to ordinary housing units, are on the rise. So KAB has been allowed by KOSTAT to survey officetel transaction prices, jeonse and monthly rent prices and announce their stats on a monthly basis. 

Jeonse is a Korean type of house lease contract in which the lessee pays most of a house’s price as a lump sum deposit. KAB’s first survey on officetel prices, jeonse and monthly rent price movements showed that officetel prices in Daegu declined 0.36 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the previous quarter, lower than the nation’s average of 0.52 percent. Officetel transaction prices across the nation showed signs of being bipolarized. Officetel prices in the Seoul metropolitan area increased 0.72 percent for the period between January and March and on the other hand, those in provincial areas dropped 0.29 percent. 

Of late, Daegu and other provincial markets have seen officetel supplies increase and demand shift to newly built multi-household units and small-sized apartments, a KAB official said. 

President Kim takes helm as 15th CEO 

New KAB President Kim Hak-kyu took office as the 15th CEO of the board at the KAB headquarters in Daegu on March 26. 

Kim, who served as KAB’s standing director, held such KAB positions as head of the Innovation Management Division, chief of the Planning Headquarters, president of the Real Estate Research Institute, and head of the Planning & Coordination Office. In addition, he had stints in such areas as management support, compensation commissioning, and appraisal & assessment. While serving as the board’s standing director, Kim had spearheaded the parliamentary approval of the Korea Appraisal Board Act, which went into effect on Sept. 1. 2016. 

KAB, marking the 49th anniversary this year, is expected to overcome a management vacuum caused by its CEO’s absence for one year, under the stewardship of the new president. Kim is well versed in the board’s corporate culture. He has been climbing the corporate ladder for years. 

He is expected to dive head-first into the new CEO role and implement projects to explore new businesses. 

Kim delivered his inauguration speech in which he called for upgrading the board’s current real estate market management functions in line with the Korea Appraisal Board Act. He also called for the KAB to become a driving force in a new era by creating a corporate environment based on communication and harmony. 

In particular, KAB President Kim stressed the trends of the times with rapid changes based on ICT, urged his executives and staff not to be afraid of changes and reinvent work through communication and harmony. He appealed for them to devote themselves to carrying out state policies faithfully and making KAB recognized by the state and a public entity beloved by people.