Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung's Cheongdam-dong Building They Owned Together Jumps to 17 Billion Won in 4 Years

Purchase price 33 billion KRW with 22.3 billion KRW loan
170 billion KRW capital gain from 12.6 billion KRW cash investment

Actor Jung Woo-sung and fellow actor Lee Jung-jae jointly purchased a building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, whose current market value is estimated to reach 50 billion KRW, according to a report by News1 on the 1st. They bought it four years ago for 33 billion KRW, resulting in a capital gain of 17 billion KRW.

Actors Jung Woo-sung (left) and Lee Jung-jae. [Photo by Artist Company Instagram]

In May 2020, Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae acquired a building located on Dosan-daero in Cheongdam-dong, consisting of basement level 1 to the 4th floor above ground (land area 165 pyeong, total floor area 429 pyeong), each holding a 50% joint ownership stake. Of the purchase price of 33 billion KRW, 22.3 billion KRW appears to have been financed through loans. Considering additional costs such as acquisition tax amounting to 1.9 billion KRW, it is estimated that they invested 12.6 billion KRW in cash.

This Cheongdam-dong building is an 8-minute walk from Apgujeong Rodeo Station on the Bundang Line subway. Situated on a corner along a main road, it is a building with high land utilization. The surrounding area is densely populated with large buildings housing companies, including imported car showrooms. At the time of purchase, well-known franchise coffee shops occupied the 1st and 2nd floors.

Three years after purchasing the building, in May of last year, Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae evicted the existing tenants and carried out major remodeling, including replacing the exterior finishing materials. An internal staircase was installed between basement level 1 and the 1st floor above ground, and part of the parking lot on the 1st floor was converted into neighborhood living facilities.

The current market value of the building is estimated to be around 50 billion KRW. Industry experts analyzed that the building’s value is about 50 billion KRW by applying the case of the McDonald’s Cheongdam DT branch building across the street on Dosan-daero, which was traded at 300 million KRW per pyeong in November this year.

In addition to the Cheongdam-dong building, Jung Woo-sung also owns a unit in the luxury apartment complex 'La Terrase' in Samseong-dong. It is known that he and Lee Jung-jae purchased units there together. In fact, the close friends Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae are neighbors living in adjacent units on the same floor. The unit owned by Jung Woo-sung has a supply area of 200.51㎡ (approximately 61 pyeong) and a net area of 159.46㎡ (approximately 48 pyeong). The sale price at the time of move-in was reported to be between 3 billion and 4 billion KRW. Due to the small number of units and the rarity of listings, the asking price remains high.