[Graphic News] Number of S. Korean landowners up more than 10% in 2017

The number of South Koreans who owned land in the country jumped 10.3 percent in 2017 from 2012, government data showed.

The data compiled by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that 16.9 million South Koreans owned 46,968 square kilometers of land -- slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey -- at the end of last year, accounting for 32.6 percent of the 51.7 million population.

In comparison, 15.32 million South Koreans owned 47,504 square kilometers of land in 2012, the ministry said. South Korea began to compile data on land ownership in 2006.