Ha Ji-won's 'loss of 100 million' Rain, Kim Tae-hee's 'profit of 100 million'

《Yoon Jun-ho's Kindling the Fire》

We delve into issues across the entertainment industry. Let's talk about the causes of controversy and issues, and what the voices of the entertainment industry are.

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The news of celebrities who became the building owner is being conveyed one after another. Investing in buildings and other buildings is like insurance for celebrities whose profits fluctuate. It's easy to think that investing in real estate is low risk, but celebrities' investments are never like that. There are many structures of high risk, high return that are comparable to business. As a result, there is a clear distinction between success and failure.

Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon sold their building in Hannam-dong last June. The building, which was purchased for 5.82 billion won in 2019, was sold for 8.8 billion won this year, leaving a market profit of about 3 billion won. Seo Taiji bought the building for 5 billion won in 2002 and sold it for 38.7 billion won this year, leaving about 30 billion won in profit. In addition, Ryu Jun-yeol, SS501 Park Jung-min, and Song Hye-kyo made profits beyond the purchase price.

There are also failure cases. Ha Ji-won purchased 'Building 8' near Seongsu-dong for 10 billion won in the name of Haewadal Entertainment, a corporation she founded in 2020. At the time, it was known that the purchase price of the building was 128 million won per 3.3 square meters. The building was bought with a lot of money, but the situation is not easy. The building, which consists of 1 basement floor to 8 floors above ground, is all vacant except for the optician on the 1st floor.

According to the certified copy of the real estate register, the maximum amount of bonds set in the building is around 9 billion won. Considering that the maximum bond amount is 120% of ordinary loans, the loan amount is expected to be about 8 billion won. The interest Ha Ji-won has to pay every month is 26 million won (annual interest rate of 4%), which is about 200 million won every year.

Celebrities experiencing both success and failure are singer Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee. Rain bought it for 16.8 billion won in 2008 and sold the building in Cheongdam-dong, which was used as the agency's office building, for 45.9 billion won in June last year. The profit is 32.7 billion won, but there are many evaluations that it is not a big profit considering the holding period. Kim Tae-hee also sold a building in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, which she bought for 13.2 billion won, for 20.3 billion won in March last year, making a profit of 7.1 billion won.

Rain purchased the Samyeong Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul for 92 billion won in the same month, based on the funds he sold in June of last year. There was a controversy that it was overrated. In the same year, there was a story that Rain was trying to sell the building for 140 billion won, but the sale soon went away. Rather, there was an analysis that Rain was suffering losses due to the recent real estate market downturn. The rental income of the building is known to be around 200 million won per month. If full, it is KRW 2.4 billion per year, and the yield compared to the purchase price is only 2.6%. It is said that the investment was aimed at capital gains, but it is not easy to make a profit because the real estate market is not easy. There is also an evaluation in the real estate industry that the value of a building based on rental income is lower than 92 billion won.

Despite these risks, what is the reason why celebrities are so active in purchasing buildings? Income instability and diversification of investment sources are the biggest reasons. Earn a lot when you're active once, and don't have a steady stream of money during your break. This means that you can secure a stable source of income by becoming a building owner. In addition, there is less possibility of controversy compared to financial investments such as stocks.

It is also a good option for saving money. Celebrities receive tax cuts by establishing a corporation at the same time as purchasing a building. Unlike individuals, corporations are subject to rental income tax and capital gains tax. Individual entrepreneurs are subject to a tax rate of 6-42%, and corporations are 10-22%.

Na Deok-gyu, a tax accountant, said, "You can avoid heavy acquisition tax by establishing a corporation, and the corporate tax rate for holding and disposal profits is 22%, which is much lower than the highest individual tax rate of 49.5%. It seems to be happening more often,” he said.

Reporter Yoon Jun-ho, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr