Property leasing companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy registered 453.3 trillion won ($381 billion) in combined revenue between 2016-20, according to the data that the Korea Customs Office submitted to the parliament for an annual audit.

Their revenue had been on a steady rise till 2019 before edging down in 2020 amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of real estate rental companies has also been rising sharply with 54,208 firms operating last year, up from 45,080 a year earlier.

According to the data, the top 1 percent of the total by revenue, or 542 firms, earned about 67.5 trillion won last year, accounting for some 69 percent of their combined revenue.

Combined revenue of the top 10 percent amounted to 92.1 trillion won last year, or 94 percent of their total earnings of 99.7 trillion won. (Yonhap)