The Construction and Transportation Ministry said Saturday that foreigners acquired nearly 29 square km of land last year, bringing their total landholdings to over 107.80 square km, about 36 times the size of Yoido islet in Seoul.

They paid 4.3 billion dollars to purchase the land, bringing the value of their total landholdings to 11.8 billion dollars.

By owners, foreign corporations bought 20.3 square km of real estate last year, while foreign individuals purchased 8.8 square km of land, bringing their total landholdings to 56.8 square km and 50.4 square km respectively.