South Korea's nationwide vacancy rate for general commercial buildings reached 13.36% in the second quarter, the highest level since 2021 and up 1.40 percentage points from the first quarter of 2021. Vacancies have risen for seven consecutive quarters since the third quarter of 2024. Sejong recorded the highest rate at 22.79%, while 16 of 17 metropolitan cities and provinces reported higher vacancies than five years earlier. The rate for ground-floor space rose to 6.68%, and vacancies increased across both mid-to-large and small commercial buildings. Separately, 975,681 businesses closed last year, with poor business performance accounting for 50.4% of closures, pointing to a cycle of empty commercial space and a shrinking pool of small-business tenants.