Hyungseok Park, CEO of Masterton Investment Management: "Korean Real Estate Market in Structural Transformation, Not a Mere Adjustment"

Attending the PERE Network Seoul Forum 2026

"This Cycle Centers on Selective Investment and Key Strategies"

Hyungseok Park, CEO of Masterton Investment Management, stated, "The current Korean real estate market is not simply undergoing a cyclical adjustment, but is experiencing a structural transformation."

According to Masterton Investment Management on June 4, CEO Park made these remarks during the "PERE Network Seoul Forum 2026," a global real estate private equity conference held in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 2. He explained, "While the previous cycle was centered on growth and leverage, the key themes of this cycle will be selective investment, resilience, and capital preservation."

Hyungseok Park, CEO of Maston Investment Management. Maston Investment Management Communication Strategy Team

During the event, CEO Park participated in a session titled "Investor Perspectives on Strategic Changes in Fund Investment Structures." The session focused on the evolving structure of global real estate investment and response strategies amid growing macroeconomic volatility, interest rate uncertainty, and concerns over inflation.

Regarding the recent changes in the real estate investment environment, CEO Park commented, "Currently, the market is undergoing several structural shifts at once, including changes in the funding environment after interest rate hikes and shifts in space demand due to AI and digital transformation." He added, "In the midst of these changes, polarization based on competitiveness is becoming more pronounced both between asset classes and within the same asset group."

He continued, "For example, in the office market, the spread of AI may act as a factor reducing required space in the short term, but technological innovation has always created new industries and new demands for space at the same time." He stressed, "Ultimately, this is a time when what matters most is not which market you invest in, but which assets you choose."

Later that afternoon, Taeseok Lee, Head of Investment Division 6, Domestic Investment Division at Masterton Investment Management, attended a session as a speaker on the topic "Generating Excess Returns through Value-Add Repositioning."

Lee stated, "In an environment where cap rate increases and interest rate volatility have become the norm, relying solely on market appreciation is not sufficient." He added, "Value-add strategies, in which asset managers actively intervene to improve tenant mix and carry out value-up initiatives to enhance physical value, will be the key means of generating excess returns by strengthening the fundamentals of assets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.