Foreign ownership of South Korean land increased nearly two percent in 2020 from a year earlier.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday, foreigners owned 253-point-three square kilometers of land in South Korea as of the end of last year, up one-point-nine percent from a year earlier.

The value of land held by foreigners increased three-point-one percent to 31-point-five trillion won over the cited period. 

U.S. nationals accounted for the largest part in terms of ownership, owning 52-point-six percent of all land owned by foreigners.

Chinese citizens came in second with seven-point-nine percent, followed by Europeans with seven-point-two percent and Japanese with seven percent.  

By region, Gyeonggi Province took up 18-point-one percent of all foreign-owned land.