Seoul prime office net absorption hits -18,600sqm in Q3

Learn more about how net absorption in each of the submarkets fared.

According to a Savills report, Seoul’s prime office market recorded a total net absorption of -18,600 sq m in Q3/2025, with negative absorption in the CBD (-26,300 sq m) and in YBD (-5,000 sq m), while GBD was the only district to post positive absorption (12,800 sq m), leading to a decline in its vacancy rate.

“The CBD vacancy rate rose by 0.9pp QoQ to 5.0%. After a steady decline since 2015, the rate bottomed out at 1.7% in Q1/2024, but has since reversed course and begun climbing,” the report said.

Here’s more from Savills:

DL Group affiliates are reportedly considering relocating to the Daelim Building, which had been temporarily occupied by the Jongno-gu Office. Following the expiration of its lease, Jongno-gu Office has begun relocating to The K Twin Tower, with three floors (5,200 sq m) already moved as of the end of September.

Eli Lilly Korea, a pharmaceutical company, recently relocated from the LG Seoul Station Building to the newly refurbished Seoul City Tower, helping to absorb a portion of the large vacant space (3,900 sq m).

Meanwhile, SK Group is consolidating office spaces previously dispersed across multiple locations to enhance synergy among affiliates and reduce operational costs. As part of this initiative, SK Innovation (7,200 sq m), SK Materials, SK E&S and etc. (10,700 sq m) vacated Gran Seoul, while SKC (10,700 sq m), SK Nexilis (1,600 sq m), and SK PIC Global (432 sq m) moved out of The K Twin Towers.

These affiliates have relocated to Jongno Tower and SK-C Tower, both owned by SK REITs, as well as Susong Square, which houses SK Ecoplant’s headquarters. These relocations have resulted in vacancies, contributing to the recent increase in the CBD vacancy rate.

The GBD vacancy rate declined by 0.6pp QoQ to 1.7%, maintaining a sub-3% level since Q1/2022. Driven by the end of remote work and an increase in employees, Hyundai AutoEver, headquartered in Luchen Tower, expanded at Samsung-dong Office Building, taking five floors (8,400 sq m) vacated by iMarket Korea. Bithumb relocated to its newly acquired Bithumb Finance Tower (formerly Gangnam N Tower), occupying four floors (6,300 sq m). These moves lowered the GBD vacancy rate to the 1% range.

The YBD vacancy rate rose by 0.3pp QoQ to 4.6%. GR Korea (1,400 sq m) relocated from WeWork at O2 Tower to One Centinel, while KIS Pricing (2,400 sq m) also moved to One Centinel due to the redevelopment of the KFPA Building. Meanwhile, several financial firms occupying smaller spaces moved out to other districts, contributing to the rise in the YBD vacancy rate.

This quarter, 40% of occupied space was driven by lateral relocations(Prime-to-Prime), with approximately 89% occurring within the same district—resulting in minimal impact on overall vacancy rates. Upgrade relocations (Secondary-to-Prime) accounted for 33%, largely due to the moves by Jongno-gu Office and Bithumb. Meanwhile, expansion and new organization accounted for 21% and 6%, respectively.