Weave-KKR Joint Venture Buys Third Seoul Apartment Complex for $32M

Weave Living and KKR have expanded their North Asian living sector cooperation with a joint venture between the rental housing specialist and the US private equity firm picking up its third property in South Korea less than a year and a half after entering the country.

The Weave-KKR living sector venture has acquired a new residential complex within 10 minutes of Gangnam station with a goal to open the 121-unit property by the end of this year, according to a statement by Weave on Monday.

“We continue to be very optimistic of the continued evolution of Seoul’s rental housing market across different demographics and price points,” Weave founder and CEO Sachin Doshi told Mingtiandi. “The strong performance of our existing operating assets driven by Weave Living’s active management and digital first leasing approach means we can generate significant outperformance in terms of rents and NOI compared to local managers as well as traditional mom-and-pop landlords, creating a large scalable opportunity set for us.”

The partners paid approximately KRW 44 billion ($31.7 million) to acquire the property, according to market sources, with the new addition putting Weave on track to establish a Seoul portfolio of 1,000 units by the first quarter of 2026.

Seoul Momentum

Weave and KKR, which first unveiled their South Korea venture in March 2024, are set to smarten up the two-tower complex into a mix of fully furnished studio and one-bedroom apartments which will opened as Weave Place – Gangnam Station, according to Weave.

At the reported purchase price the partners are paying the equivalent of KRW 363.6 million per key for their latest asset, with the two companies having also established a sizable portfolio of Japanese apartments. 

The Gangnam purchase was announced 14 months after the joint venture picked up its second Seoul asset, a 98-unit property in Seoul’s Dongdaemun district. 

The partners first announced the Korean joint venture in March of last year with the stated aim of building a Seoul-focused portfolio of 1,200 units. The JV made its first acquisition just a few weeks later, acquiring the State Sunyu hotel near Seoul’s Yeouido business district for conversion into 157 rental housing units.

In a a statement on LinkedIn on Monday, Weave’s Doshi said, “With a strong calendar of planned new properties in Seoul over the next few months, we are excited to cement our position as Seoul’s best rental housing solution with a diversified product and service offering giving renters a high quality alternative for building a life in this bustling metropolis.”

In November of last year Weave and KKR teamed up to take on Japan’s living sector, announcing a joint venture with a goal of assembling a 1,200-unit portfolio in the country. The partners seeded that venture with 11 properties in Tokyo spanning 439 units, according to Mingtiandi coverage at the time.

Global Investors Target Korean Living

Weave and KKR announced their third Seoul acquisition as Korea’s living sector has become a major target for global investors, with the parent company of Australia’s larget student housing provider, The Living Company, opening an office in Seoul earlier this month.

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus, which was one of the earliest investors in Weave, took a targeted approach to South Korea’s rental housing market in March this year when it announced a joint venture with local conglomerate SK Group to invest in acquiring and developing senior housing facilities in the country.

With the median age in Korea projected to reach 45.6 years in 2025, making it one of Asia’s oldest societies, US asset manager Invesco announced its own bet on senior living in the country that same month, teaming up with local operator Caredoc to acquire a three-asset portfolio.

Earlier this month M&G Real Estate unveiled its first investment in Korea’s living sector, purchasing a set of Seoul apartments for KRW 24.3 billion.