Land Appraised at 6.69 Billion KRW and Luxury Villa at 2.7 Billion KRW
Both First Auctions Failed... Second Auction at 20% Lower Appraised Value
The land and house in Seongbuk-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, owned by Jeong Dae-seon, the third generation of the Hyundai family and former president of HN Inc, have appeared in a court auction. Jeong is also the husband of former KBS announcer Noh Hyun-jung.
Jeong Dae-seon, former president of HN Inc, and his wife, former announcer Noh Hyun-jung. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the auction and public sale data specialist site Gigi Auction on the 8th, an auction for the land owned by Jeong will be held at the Seoul Northern District Court on the 8th of next month. This land, located among the upscale residential area of Seongbuk-dong, measures 604.0㎡ (183 pyeong), with an appraised value of 6.69 billion KRW. An auction was already held on the 27th of last month at the appraised value but failed to sell. Due to the failure in the first auction, the second auction next month will start bidding at 5.35 billion KRW, which is 20% below the appraised value.
This auction is due to a forced auction request by Pyeongtaek Savings Bank. A forced auction occurs when a creditor obtains a court ruling confirming the debt amount through litigation and then applies for an auction of the debtor’s property.
The land originally belonged to the late Jeong Ju-young, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group, but was inherited by his grandson Jeong Dae-seon in 2001. There is a building on the site, consisting of one basement floor and two above-ground floors, but the building is registered under the name of Jeong Il-seon, Jeong Dae-seon’s older brother and CEO of Hyundai BNG Steel, and is not subject to auction. Since only the land ownership is being auctioned without the building ownership, winning the bid is expected to be difficult. In such cases, even if one acquires the land ownership, usage may be restricted and legal disputes may arise.
Land in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, owned by former HN Inc president Jeong Dae-seon, currently under forced auction. Gigi Auction website
The luxury villa in Seongbuk-dong where Jeong and his wife currently reside is also undergoing a forced auction due to Pyeongtaek Savings Bank’s application. This house, part of a townhouse-style luxury villa complex, has a building area of 228㎡ (69 pyeong) and an appraised value of 2.69 billion KRW. Similarly, the first auction last month failed, and the auction will be held again on the 8th of next month at 2.15 billion KRW.
This forced auction appears to be related to the court receivership of HN Inc, where Jeong was the largest shareholder. HN Inc is a mid-sized construction company owning apartment brands such as 'Sun & Ville' and 'Heriot.' It faced financial difficulties due to a downturn in the real estate market and filed for corporate rehabilitation in March 2023, entering court receivership.
HN Inc was founded by Jeong in 2008 as a construction and IT company. It expanded its construction business through apartment, officetel, and urban lifestyle housing brands 'Heriot' and 'Sun & Ville.' The company was previously named Hyundai BS&C, but changed its name in January 2021 after Hyundai Motor Group blocked the use of the 'Hyundai' trademark. On the day of the court receivership application, Jeong sold all his shares in Hyundai BNG Steel for about 1.1 billion KRW. Additionally, at the end of 2022, to improve the group’s financial structure, the company was split into construction and IT divisions, and about half of the shares in HN IX were sold to a related company within the broader Hyundai family for approximately 20 billion KRW.
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