Abstract This paper argues for a distinct analysis of two constructions involving the Korean predicate iss- ‘exist/be’: locatives and possessives. The fact that these patterns often coincide crosslinguistically has prompted earlier studies to propose a unified analysis for both constructions (e.g., Freeze 1992). However, in this paper I illustrate the different syntactic behaviors of each construction and then suggest an applicative substructure for possessives, but not for locatives. The present work offers a more systemic account of the complexities and differences inherent in each construction compared to previous studies (Park 2009; Kim 2016) and supports the recent claim that stative predicates can be applicativized (e.g., Baker 2014; Berro & Fernánadez 2019; den Dikken 2023).

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