BTS member Jin (real name Kim Seok-jin) sold one of his luxury apartments at Hannam the Hill in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for 12.7 billion won in April. [Jin's Instagram / Naver Real Estate Gallery]
BTS member Jin (real name Kim Seok-jin) sold one of his luxury apartments at Hannam the Hill in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for 12.7 billion won in April. [Jin's Instagram / Naver Real Estate Gallery]

BTS member Jin, whose real name is Kim Seok-jin, has sold one of his luxury apartments at Hannam the Hill in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for 12.7 billion won ($8.81 million), netting a capital gain of more than 8 billion won on a unit he purchased roughly seven years ago for 4.49 billion won.

Court registry documents show Jin sold the 235-square-meter unit on April 7. He received the final payment from the buyer and transferred ownership on Monday.

Jin acquired the unit in July 2019 for 4.49 billion won. Comparing the purchase and sale prices alone, he realized a gain of 8.21 billion won over the roughly seven-year holding period. No mortgage was registered at the time of purchase, suggesting he paid the full amount in cash.

The buyer, identified only as a person born in 1979, also appears to have paid entirely in cash, as no mortgage was registered in connection with the transaction.

Jin has held a total of three units at Hannam the Hill, including the one he just sold. In November 2019, he purchased a 206-square-meter unit for 4.27 billion won, and in March last year he bought a 243-square-meter unit for 17.5 billion won — a record high for the complex at the time. With this latest sale, he now holds two units at Hannam the Hill.

Large-format units at Hannam the Hill have continued to change hands for well above 10 billion won. In May last year, singer Ok Joo-hyun purchased a 332-square-meter duplex unit from SPC Group president Heo Hee-su for 19 billion won, setting a new all-time high for the complex.

The timing of Jin's sale contract is also notable: it was signed just before the government reinstated the capital gains tax surcharge on multi-home owners in designated adjustment target areas, which took effect May 10 this year. Jin signed the sale contract in April, ahead of that deadline.

Property holding taxes are also set to rise through second-half tax reforms. A simulation by Woo Byung-tak, a senior adviser at Shinhan Premier Pathfinder, applying a fair market value ratio of 80 percent, found that the annual holding tax on the 235-square-meter Hannam the Hill unit would rise from 87.32 million won this year to 137.16 million won next year — an increase of 49.84 million won, or 57.1 percent.

Hannam the Hill was developed by Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Kumho Industrial on the former site of Dankook University and completed in 2011. The complex comprises 32 buildings with a total of 600 units ranging from 57 to 240 square meters, spread across two basement levels and up to 12 above-ground floors. The 235-square-meter type that Jin held is among the most sought-after large-format units in the complex. A defining feature of the development is its low-rise design, with all units capped at 12 floors. Units of 297 square meters or larger were built to just three or four stories, and many include duplex layouts or large terraces.

As one of South Korea's most prestigious residential addresses, Hannam the Hill has attracted a roster of prominent business and entertainment figures. Among those known to have owned or lived there are LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, NCsoft CEO Kim Taek-jin, MBK Partners CEO Kim Gwang-il, People Power Party lawmaker Ko Dong-jin, and former Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, as well as actors Ahn Sung-ki, So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-joo, broadcaster Lee Young-ja, and singer Park Hyo-shin. The complex was also once used as a residence by BTS as a group.


quq@heraldcorp.com