Despite the economic downturn, high-end cars, designer brands, and expensive apartments are showing rapid increases in sales. This has led to conflicting views between those who believe the rich are starting to spend again and those who see it as just a temporary rebound from the slump.

◆ Auto

The newly launched Equus, Chairman W, and SM7 are growing in popularity. They seem not to have been dealt a blow by the economic slump. Hyundai sold a whopping 2,030 new Equus (W63.7 million - W105.2 million, US1$=W1,273) last month alone, up more than twice from 911 a month earlier. A spokesperson at the automaker said the new Equus is recording robust sales, with 1,500 units sold until the 25th of this month, and that supply cannot keep up with demand.

Ssangyong sold 337 Chairman Ws (W49.24 million - W98.48 million) last month, up approximately 40 percent from 241 a month earlier. The same picture followed with imported cars. A total of 56 BMW 750's (W175.8 million), were sold last month, up 20 percent from 43 units a month earlier. The S550 (W173.5 million), one of Mercedes-Benz top models, also saw sales increase dramatically. In terms of Volkswagen's luxury vehicle, the Phaeton (W87 million -W129.9 million), 70 units were sold last month, up from 13 a month earlier.

◆ Luxury Goods

Sales of luxury brands have also increased at department stores. Sales increased by 45.8 at Lotte Department Store, 38.1 percent at Shinsegae Department Store, and 24.1 percent at Hyundai Department Store on-year. Yun Byung-jin, director of the foreign luxury brands team at Lotte said, "Due to the economic downturn, many people have refrained from going abroad to shop, drawing them into domestic shops for luxury brands." The weak won also wooed foreign tourists, including the Japanese.

Consumers shop in the luxury goods section in Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch. /Courtesy of Shinsegae Department Store

◆ Housing

As there are growing expectations over the rebound in the housing market, expensive apartments that cost over W2 billion are also being traded in growing numbers. According to the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs, transactions of apartments that cost over W2 billion amounted to 31 in January, and 19 in February, before soaring to above 40 in the previous two months; with 46 in March and 48 in April. The figure is more than double the 17.7 average of the first half of last year. Among apartments traded this year, the most expensive was an apartment in the second complex of Tower Palace located in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It was sold for W4.95 billion in the middle of last month.

Some experts believe the rich are loosening their purse strings, creating this boom in premium products. Kim Ran-do, a professor of consumer behavior at Seoul National University, said, "As the economy showed signs of recovery recently with the stock market soaring, customers that purchase premium products seem to have started buying again."