Gaw Capital, Petraville Buy Seoul Office Tower for KRW 292.7 Billion with NPS Backing

Gaw Capital Partners and Petraville Asset Management have acquired City Center Tower in Seoul’s Jung district for KRW 292.7 billion ($211 million). South Korea’s National Pension Service backed the acquisition, which closed on 30 July 2026.

Gaw Capital Partners has teamed with Petraville Asset Management to buy a central Seoul office tower for KRW 292.7 billion ($211 million), with South Korea’s National Pension Service backing the acquisition. The transaction of City Center Tower in Jung district closed on 30 July, with Petraville acting as the acquiring manager, Hong Kong-based Gaw as its investment partner and NPS participating as an investor. Savills Korea, acting as exclusive advisor to seller Hana Alternative Investment Asset Management, announced the completion on Tuesday.

“The successful closing reflects continued investor interest in well-leased office assets with stable income profiles and value-add potential in Seoul’s CBD,” Savills said. Contacted by Mingtiandi, a Gaw representative confirmed the July completion but had no further comment.

City Center Tower stands 200 metres from Euljiro 3-ga station in Seoul’s central business district. The 1969-vintage property rises 18 storeys above two basement levels and underwent a major renovation in 2014. Savills described the asset as comprising 36,573 square metres (393,669 square feet), with cement giant Ssangyong C&E anchoring the tenant roster alongside Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and software maker SK M&Service. Based on Savills’ stated floor area, the agreed value equates to KRW 8 million ($5,770) per square metre.

The building served as Ssangyong Group’s headquarters for about 45 years from its completion. An IGIS Asset Management fund backed by AEW Capital and Samsung Fire acquired the property from the conglomerate for KRW 202.5 billion in 2015 after the refurbishment. Hana bought City Center Tower from IGIS in May 2018 for KRW 237.7 billion through a blind-pool fund backed by Korea Post, making the latest price 23 per cent higher than its entry cost. Hana began marketing the property in late 2024 and selected ST Asset Management as preferred bidder in 2025, but that agreement collapsed after the prospective buyer failed to raise sufficient capital.

Petraville was founded in 2022 by a team of former ARA Asset Management executives, including Jinbum Lee. The Seoul-based firm made its first property investment in 2024 with the KRW 132 billion purchase of an Icheon logistics centre leased to Samsung Electronics, before teaming with PAG to acquire Citi Plaza in Yeouido from JP Morgan last year, Seoul Property Insight reported. Family-controlled Gaw entered South Korea in 2014 by acquiring 75 per cent of the floor area in Seoul’s 91,461 square metre Dongja 8 commercial project. A Gaw-managed fund later partnered with IMM Investment in 2022 to invest in data centre operator Dreammark1, and the firm appointed Hyun-Chan Cho as head of Korea in 2024, the same year NPS reportedly made a $700 million investment with the manager.

The year’s biggest Seoul office trade remains the KRW 1.28 trillion sale of Seoul Square by Aravest and NH Investment & Securities to Korea Investment Real Asset Management. The March transaction valued the 132,806 square metre landmark opposite Seoul Station at KRW 9.7 million per square metre. IGIS last month completed its acquisition of the 33-storey Doosan Tower from Mastern Investment Management for more than KRW 900 billion, about a year after an earlier sale attempt foundered. Also on 30 July, Samsung SRA Asset Management sold Gangnam 358 Tower to the Hyunsong Educational & Cultural Foundation for KRW 445 billion. The all-equity purchase allowed an NPS-backed fund to exit at a 111 per cent uplift from its 2017 acquisition cost.

Other first-half trades included the KRW 811.2 billion sale of the Hana Securities Building, G-Tower at KRW 697.7 billion, the west tower of Eulji Twin Towers at KRW 657 billion and E-Mart Tower at KRW 350 billion. JLL put South Korea’s first-half office transaction volume at KRW 7.43 trillion. Seoul’s Grade A vacancy rate rose to 6.6 per cent in the second quarter as new CBD supply pushed vacancy in the central district to 12.3 per cent, but average effective rents still climbed 4.9 per cent year-on-year, the consultancy said in a report.