Yangji Village Kumho Complex 1 in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. [Naver Road View]
Yangji Village Kumho Complex 1 in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. [Naver Road View]

A Bundang apartment owned by President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hye-kyung sold for 2.9 billion won ($1.95 million) about five months after it was listed. The ownership transfer at the complex — which is undergoing reconstruction — was completed ahead of an expected project operator designation notice, meaning the buyer is set to secure union membership status and receive a move-in right through normal procedures.

According to Supreme Court registry documents and industry sources, the 164-square-meter unit at Yangji Village Kumho Complex 1 was sold to a couple surnamed A and B, born in the 1970s, who jointly own a nearby apartment. Lee had held the unit since 1998.

The buyers moved swiftly to complete the ownership transfer after signing the deal. They signed the 2.9 billion won purchase contract on July 14 and filed for ownership transfer registration two days later, on July 16. As a condition of the sale, Lee and his wife attached a collateral mortgage of 1.77 billion won on the property.

Industry insiders say both parties expedited the ownership transfer — faster than a typical transaction — to ensure a smooth succession of union membership status. Yangji Village Kumho Complex 1 in Bundang-gu is designated as a first-generation new town reconstruction pilot district and is expected to receive its project operator designation notice as early as the end of this month.

Bundang-gu was designated a regulated zone and speculative overheating district under last year's Oct. 15 measures, subjecting it to restrictions including limits on the transfer of union membership status. Because the Yangji Village integrated reconstruction project operates under a trust arrangement, the date of the project operator designation notice serves as the regulatory cutoff. After that date, exceptions allowing the transfer of union membership status are limited to cases such as a single-homeowner household that has held the property for at least 10 years and resided there for at least five.

"This appears to be a transaction with no issue regarding the succession of union membership status, since it was completed before the project operator designation notice," said an official at a real estate agency in Sunaedong, Bundang-gu. "It is one of the selling strategies used in reconstruction projects to transfer status during a special window — similar to the period just before a union is formed."

At a Cabinet meeting on July 14, Lee acknowledged the sale, saying, "I no longer own a home." Asking prices for comparable units currently on the market range from 3 billion to 3.1 billion won, meaning the apartment sold for roughly 200 million won below the prevailing market price.

Meanwhile, Yangji Village selected Daesin Asset Trust as its preliminary project operator through open competitive bidding in May, accelerating the redevelopment process. After the project operator designation notice is issued, the plan calls for selecting a contractor in the first half of next year, obtaining management and disposal plan approval in the second half, and completing resident relocation by 2028.


hope@heraldcorp.com