A Hannam-dong residence in central Seoul owned by Shinsegae Group’s chief retained its top position as the most expensive house in Korea, data showed Friday.

The value of Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myeong-hee’s 2,862-square-meter house, as assessed by the government, was 29.53 billion won ($26.88 million), up 6.6 percent from this year. Lee is the younger sister of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Previously, the house’s declared price surged by 59.7 percent on-year from 16.9 billion won to 27 billion won in 2019. It rose by an additional 2.6 percent on-year to 27.71 billion won this year.

The government reports declared values of residences, land, and other forms of real estate to use as a basis for taxation. The declared value of a house worth over 1.5 billion won across the country grew 11.58 percent on average, the Land Ministry explained.

Daelim Industrial Chairman Lee Hae-wook owns the second-most expensive house in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, with a declared value of 19.02 billion won. The 2,617-square-meter mansion’s value has also jumped 6.4 percent on-year, the data showed.

An Itaewon house owned by Amorepacific Chairman Seo Kyung-bae nabbed the No. 3 spot at 17.38 billion won, rising 3.6 percent from this year. The 1,185-square-meter house also soared 52.7 percent on-year to 10.8 billion last year, then rose by 1.7 percent on-year to 16.78 billion won this year.

Furniture retailer Simmons Chairman Ahn Jeong-ho’s house in Samseong-dong took fifth place with a declared value of 15.64 billion won, followed by Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-koo with his Hanman-dong house worth 15.4 billion won.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)