CapitaLand has acquired The Connoisseur Residence Hotel in Seoul’s Yeouido district, purchasing the property in its entirety for ₩73 billion (approx. USD 54 million). The deal closed on August 29, according to investment banking sources.

The property was originally developed and built by Kunyoung, with Trinity D&C — led by the daughter of Kunyoung Chairman Lee Hyung-soo — operating it under The Connoisseur brand as a serviced residence hotel. The 13-story property (B3–13F) comprises 161 rooms across 2,143 sq. m of net leasable area.

However, sluggish pre-sales and weak operating performance eventually pushed the asset to market. Trinity initially attempted to sell only the corporate-owned portion, but failed to attract buyers.

The company then undertook the complex task of persuading all 86 individual investors who had purchased units to join a collective sale — an uncommon achievement in Korea’s residential-style hotel sector.

CapitaLand plans to continue operations under The Connoisseur brand in the near term while pursuing approvals and renovations, before relaunching the property under one of its own global hospitality brands in 2026. The specific brand has not yet been disclosed.

The Singapore-based group is well known for enhancing underperforming hospitality and residential assets by rebranding and repositioning them within its Somerset, Citadines, or Oakwood portfolios — all of which it currently operates in Seoul and Busan.

Lifestyle residence hotels (생활형숙박시설) in Korea have long suffered from fragmented ownership, with multiple individual unit holders complicating sales.

Over the past three years, only about ten collective transactions have closed in the Seoul metropolitan area, most at distressed discounts. Against that backdrop, Trinity’s success in assembling all unit owners into a bulk sale stands out as highly unusual.

For CapitaLand, the purchase price of ₩73 billion is considered attractive relative to nearby hotel benchmarks. While prime five-star assets in Yeouido have traded at ₩500–700 million per room, The Connoisseur was acquired at roughly ₩450 million per key.

Industry observers expect that once repositioned under a global CapitaLand brand, the property will capture stronger occupancy and extended-stay demand, unlocking significant value upside.