While it was previously known that top stars Lee Seung Gi and EXO’s Baekhyun had moved into a super-luxury villa complex in Seoul’s exclusive Hannam-dong neighborhood, new details about their rental contracts are raising serious red flags in the real estate industry.
Both artists have signed jeonse contracts for units at LANUVO Hannam 1st in the prestigious UN Village. The landlord is none other than Cha Ga Won, the CEO of One Hundred, the parent company of the agencies representing both stars.
Jeonse is a unique Korean rental system where tenants pay a massive lump-sum deposit—often 50-70% of the property’s market value—instead of monthly rent. The landlord invests this money during the lease, and the full deposit is returned to the tenant when they move out.
However, if the deposit exceeds the property’s actual sale value, it creates a risky situation in which tenants could lose part or all of their deposit if the property’s value drops or the landlord defaults on a loan secured by the property.
The concern comes from the extraordinarily high deposits paid by the stars.
Lee Seung Gi reportedly paid 10.5 billion won ($7.1 million) in 2024, marking the highest villa jeonse price in Seoul for that year, nearly double the second-highest recorded deposit.
Baekhyun’s contract for 2025 is even higher, valued at 16 billion won ($10.9 million), a figure that significantly surpasses all other comparable agreements.
Real estate experts warn that these amounts are dangerously high. Independent appraisers value the units between 9.5 billion and 14.5 billion won ($6.5 million to $9.9 million).
This suggests that the stars’ deposits are equal to or even higher than the homes’ actual market value, meaning they could face significant financial losses if the owner defaults on loans and the properties are auctioned.
Public records indicate that both artists likely took out substantial loans to cover these deposits.
Meanwhile, the landlord, CEO Cha Ga Won, has reportedly used other units in the complex as collateral for additional loans worth billions of won.
Currently, one of the units is listed on the market for 22 billion won (about $16 million). This has led to speculation that the unusually high-priced rental contracts may have been placed to artificially inflate the property’s value.
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