This article was published on May 21, 2025, at 4:22 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs will begin reviewing the sale of the prestigious 88 Country Club (CC) near the capital. The 88 Country Club is a government asset that was put up for sale under the public institution advancement plan during the Lee Myung-bak administration. After failing to attract bids in the first auction in 2009, it attempted three more sales before retracting the plan. The current analysis to determine whether to sell the asset is interpreted by the market as preparatory work for the sale.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 21st, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs is pursuing a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether to sell the 88 Country Club. Given that 17 years have passed since the initial decision to sell, there is a need to reassess what is the most economically reasonable method between selling the golf course or continuing its operation.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs has requested an investigation into the amount of the sale proceeds for the 88 Country Club in the request for proposal (RFP), along with the administrative procedures and incurred expenses necessary for the sale process, and an analysis of other golf course sales cases. This has led to the market perceiving a strong intention to sell. The Ministry plans to select external professional institutions such as domestic real estate consulting firms and accounting firms to conduct the research as early as this month.
The 88 Country Club is a 36-hole membership golf course located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It was established in 1988, the year of the Seoul Olympic Games, on national land donated by the Ministry of Finance (now the Ministry of Economy and Finance). The 88 Country Club is regarded as a valuable asset that contributes more than 10 billion won in revenue to the veterans fund each year. The revenue in the previous year was 33.2 billion won, with a net profit of 12.5 billion won. In 2024, it is expected to have more than 167,000 visitors, and the total asset is estimated to be around 350 billion won.
During the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008, the decision was made to sell the 88 Country Club as part of the privatization of public institutions. In the first auction held the following year, E-Land Group, Booyoung Construction, and foreign private equity fund (PEF) operators submitted letters of intent (LOI) to participate in the acquisition. However, the sale attempted to maintain a valuation over 500 billion won based on the appraisal value requested from the Korea Appraisal Board, resulting in a failure of the transaction. Subsequent auctions held until 2011 were also unsuccessful due to fluctuations in the real estate market and opposition from stakeholders such as the Korea Disabled Veterans Association.
Industry experts expect that if the 88 Country Club comes to market, numerous buyers will participate, and competition for acquisition will be intense. Prestigious golf courses located in the capital region are considered limited in supply and consistently in demand. Securing land to build new golf courses is challenging, and low profitability compared to development and regulatory barriers have effectively blocked new supply of golf courses in the capital region.
Currently, more than ten buyers, including Kumho Resort, LX Group, Isu Group, and Samchuly, are participating in the acquisition of the Midwestern Country Club (CC) under Aekyung Group, which is currently in the bidding process. The sale price is reportedly expected to exceed 200 billion won including unused land, with a minimum of 10 billion won per hole.