"Shampoo Thieves" in 10 Billion Won Gangnam Apartment Sauna Lead to Suspension of Communal Amenities

Raemian One Bailey Suspends Provision of Communal Amenities
Decision Made Due to Indiscriminate Use by Some Residents

Raemian One Bailey, a luxury apartment complex in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, with a highest price of 10 billion won and a price per 3.3 square meters exceeding 200 million won, has suspended the provision of communal amenities in its community sauna. This decision was made due to indiscriminate use by some residents, including incidents of shampoo theft.

Raemian One Bailey, Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. (File photo)

Recently, Raemian One Bailey placed a sign in front of the community sauna announcing the "Discontinuation of Sauna Communal Amenities," stating, "In accordance with the resolution of the residents' representative meeting, all items except for soap and toothpaste will no longer be provided once current stocks run out." Initially, the sauna offered a variety of shower products, including toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and lotion. However, going forward, only toothpaste, soap, and cotton swabs will be provided.

This decision is reportedly due to unreasonable usage behaviors by some residents. There have been repeated cases of people transferring communal shampoo and body wash into containers brought from home or using these products for laundry purposes. A representative from the community management company stated, "As incidents of residents pumping communal shampoo to take home continued, some residents even filed complaints suggesting it would be better to use personal products." In fact, the monthly cost of purchasing communal amenities, which was about 1.5 million won in the early days of occupancy, has recently surged to 3 million won.

Last December, a 133.95-square-meter (28th floor) unit in this complex was contracted for 10.6 billion won. The transaction price per 3.3 square meters reached 261.14 million won, setting a record for the highest price per 3.3 square meters in the history of domestic apartment transactions. Last month, an 84-square-meter unit, known as the "national standard size," was sold for 7 billion won, surpassing 200 million won per 3.3 square meters. Raemian One Bailey is the first complex where the price per 3.3 square meters for a standard-sized apartment has exceeded 200 million won.