Apartment Maintenance Fees Equivalent to Annual Salary of 100 Million Won or Monthly Income Level

Photo of Maintenance Fee Bill Posted on Online Community
January Maintenance Fee for 518㎡ Unit Reaches 6.71 Million KRW
6-Star Hotel-Level Concierge Services Cited as Main Reason

The maintenance fee for the ultra-luxury residential officetel 'Signiel Residence' in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul has become a hot topic after being revealed online.

Recently, a photo of the January maintenance fee bill for Signiel was posted on an online community under the title "Signiel maintenance fee is crazy." According to the bill, the maintenance fee for the unit with an area of 517.94㎡ is 6,718,610 KRW. This amount is even higher than the monthly take-home pay of about 6.6 million KRW for an office worker earning an annual salary of 100 million KRW.

The largest portion of the maintenance fee is the general management fee, which is 1,123,400 KRW. In addition, common electricity charges of 412,690 KRW and common heating fees of 330,810 KRW were charged, along with cleaning fees, security fees, and management operation fees, each exceeding 100,000 KRW.

The main reason for the high maintenance fee is known to be the labor costs due to the premium services provided by Signiel Residence. The residence offers a variety of services including concierge services at a 6-star hotel level, room tidying, laundry, and breakfast. Additionally, 37 safety personnel, including an in-house fire brigade and fire trucks, maintain a 24-hour emergency response system.

Netizens who saw the maintenance fee bill photo reacted with comments such as "Even if they let me live for free, I can't afford the maintenance fee," "The late fee after the due date is equivalent to our monthly maintenance fee," "There are so many rich people in the world," and "That's why I didn't move into Signiel."

Jamsil Signiel is a luxury residential facility located on floors 42 to 71 of the Jamsil Lotte World Tower. It consists of 223 households with areas ranging from 133 to 829㎡, and the sale price is known to be between 4.2 billion and 37 billion KRW. Currently, on Naver Real Estate, a high-floor unit in the World Tower building with an exclusive area of 247㎡ is listed for 11 billion KRW.

Signiel is known to be home to singer and musical actor Kim Junsu, actor Jo In-sung, and broadcaster Clara. It also gained notoriety when Jeon Cheong-jo, who impersonated a third-generation chaebol and carried out a notorious fraud, lived there.