On August 21st legal filings revealed that Lee Jong-suk had sold a building he had bought in September of 2016. At that time the old building in Sinsa district of Gangnam was purchased by the actor for a total of around 3 million dollars. It was remodeled in the intervening years into a brunch cafe.
The recent filings show that Lee Jong-suk sold the building for around 4.5 million dollars, or a 1.5 million dollar profit. It is not known how much money was invested into the building after purchase to convert the building to its current state. The sale is most likely related to the closure of the brunch cafe, 89 Mansion, due to a worsened business environment due to COVID-19.
The last day of operation for 89 Mansion will be on September 14th. In spite of the closure of the relevant cafe, the building itself increased in value due to its location in one of the more gentrified areas of Seoul. The exact involvement of Lee Jong-suk in the sale is not known. The actor is currently undergoing his alternative mandatory service, having been exempted from mandatory military service due to an injury sustained to one of his knees in a traffic accident he suffered as a teenager.
Written by William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema's travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea's public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
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