The South Korean economy is noticeably sputtering, especially in comparison to stronger post-COVID recoveries elsewhere in Asia. Korea’s exports are down 15 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, interest rate hikes by the Bank of Korea (BOK) to stem inflation have been largely successful but have hit the country’s USD 107 billion housing market and construction industry especially hard. Housing prices fell in April for the eleventh straight month and are down about ten percent from their peak last summer. Residential real estate is the largest class of assets for most Korean households, so a drop in values can have a strong and negative wealth effect on household spending.