Musical actor Ok Joo-hyun. [Yonhap]
Musical actor Ok Joo-hyun. [Yonhap]

A luxury home purchased by musical actor and Fin.K.L member Ok Joo-hyun, 46, for 19 billion won ($14.2 million) in April has been referred to court auction, according to reports.

The Seoul Western District Court issued a voluntary auction commencement order on Oct. 14 for Ok's luxury unit at Hannam The Hill in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. A voluntary auction is a procedure initiated by a mortgagee to enforce collateral rights when a debtor fails to fulfill a secured obligation.

The creditor that filed for the auction is Korea Financial Asset Management Loan, with a claimed amount of approximately 2.17 billion won.

The property's registry shows four mortgage liens totaling a maximum secured claim of 23.7 billion won. The specific grounds for the default and the actual scale of the debt have not been confirmed, however.

According to the registry, Ok signed a sales contract on May 7 last year and completed the ownership transfer registration on April 10 this year. The 19 billion won purchase price drew wide attention as it surpassed the previous all-time record at Hannam The Hill — 17.5 billion won set by BTS member Jin last year. The purchase was also reported to be Ok's first home acquisition.

The previous owner was Heo Hee-su, a president at SPC Group, who reportedly purchased the unit for 6.9 billion won in September 2015.

The case is currently at the auction commencement stage, meaning the appraised value, minimum bid price and actual sale date have yet to be determined. The auction could still be withdrawn or the proceedings suspended depending on whether the debt is repaid or a settlement is reached with the creditor.


paq@heraldcorp.com