Comedian and actor Im Ha-ryong’s real estate story has drawn wide attention online.
A video posted April 30 on the YouTube channel 'Sunpung Sunwoo Yong-yeo' titled “First reveal of Sunwoo Yong-yeo’s 40-year friend Im Ha-ryong’s 10 billion-won Cheongdam-dong building” sparked strong reactions.
In the video, Im said he bought a two-story detached home in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong in 1991 for about 500 million won, including taxes. He said that in the 2000s he sold an apartment in Mok-dong and put about 600 million won into expanding the property into a five-story building.
Im said the purchase was not solely for investment. “I started it to set up a cafe for my wife and live together,” he said, adding that he planned to place his wife’s cafe on the first floor and live upstairs.
The building is now said to be worth in the 10 billion-won range. By simple calculation, that is more than nine times the roughly 1.1 billion won he said he initially put in, combining the purchase price and construction costs.
His approach to rent also drew notice. Im said he still charges the same rent as “26 years ago,” raising only part of the first-floor rent. “Celebrities can’t raise it carelessly. You could get criticized,” he added.
Real estate industry officials view the case as an example of long-term holding in a prime Gangnam-area location. They said areas like Cheongdam-dong, where both retail activity and residential demand have strengthened, tend to become more scarce over time. One industry official said it is often treated as a celebrity building investment story, but “in reality it is closer to a long-term holding case that stayed put for more than 30 years.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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