A view of the Shin Hyundai 9, 11 and 12 complexes in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and broadcaster Kim Dong-hyun. [Herald DB]
A view of the Shin Hyundai 9, 11 and 12 complexes in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and broadcaster Kim Dong-hyun. [Herald DB]

The market price of a Seoul apartment in Apgujeong-dong that broadcaster Kim Dong-hyun, a former UFC fighter, reportedly purchased has fallen sharply, sparking debate online.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, a 182-square-meter unit at the Shin Hyundai 12 complex in Apgujeong-dong — the same size as the one Kim reportedly bought for 10 billion won ($7.46 million) on Sept. 23 — traded for more than 11.2 billion won in July, but then changed hands for 8.8 billion won on Oct. 14 and 9.2 billion won on Oct. 21.

Compared with the 10 billion won Kim paid in September, a unit of the same size sold for as much as 1.2 billion won less within about a month. Kim's unit is on the third floor, while the one that sold for 8.8 billion won is on the sixth floor.

Kim drew attention for financing the purchase partly through seller financing, borrowing about 5 billion won of the purchase price from the previous owners.

Seller financing has emerged as a new funding method in the high-end housing market, including in the Gangnam area. For sellers who need to offload a property but are not in urgent need of the full proceeds, it offers interest income; for buyers, it provides a way to cover the remaining balance when conventional mortgage limits are out of reach.

The arrangement has grown more common since the government, as part of its Oct. 15 measures last year, sharply cut the mortgage loan ceiling for homes priced above 2.5 billion won — from 600 million won to 200 million won — prompting more sellers to lend buyers part of the shortfall, particularly high-income purchasers with the means to repay.

The price drop on Kim's apartment became a topic of discussion Tuesday on an anonymous online community for office workers.

"What is Kim Dong-hyun going to do now? He borrowed 5 billion won from the seller, bought it for 10 billion won, and the price dropped by 1 billion won right after he bought it. How are we supposed to interpret this?" one user wrote, questioning the price swing.

Other users weighed in with reactions such as: "He put in 5 billion won of his own money and leveraged 100 percent on top of it, so a 1 billion won drop wipes out 20 percent of his own assets"; "It looks like he got the timing wrong"; and "Didn't he buy at the peak?"

The Shin Hyundai 12 complex where Kim bought falls within Apgujeong Zone 2, considered the flagship Han River-side reconstruction project. Zone 2 is moving faster than any of the other zones — Zones 2 through 5 — and is slated to be redeveloped into a Han River-front residential complex of up to 66 stories and 2,381 units.

Kim married a non-celebrity six years his junior in 2018. The couple welcomed a son in 2019, daughters in 2021 and 2023, and another son in September, giving them two sons and two daughters.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com