As previously reported, singer-actor Lee Seung Gi and singer Baekhyun are both living under jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) contracts in a luxury villa located in UN Village, Hannam-dong, Seoul. Their respective jeonse deposits amount to 10.5 billion KRW (approx. 7.2 million USD) and 16 billion KRW (approx. 10.9 million USD). The villa is owned by Cha Ga Won, CEO of One Hundred, the parent company of the labels to which both artists belong.
What has drawn particular attention is that these unusually high jeonse deposits—set between parties classified as “related parties”—appear to exceed market levels far, raising concerns about potential “kkangtong jeonse” or "Empty-can jeonse" risk.
Kkangtong jeonse (literally, “empty-can jeonse”) refers to a high-risk rental situation in which the jeonse deposit is equal to or higher than the property’s actual market value. In such cases, if the home is sold or put up for auction, the landlord may be unable to return the tenant’s deposit fully. This exposes tenants to significant financial losses, particularly if the property’s sale price falls short of the deposit amount.
In short, it describes a scenario where even selling the home would not generate enough money to repay the tenant’s jeonse deposit.
Cha Ga Won holds another prominent title as Chairman of PIAK Group, a real estate services company offering end-to-end solutions from design and construction to development and sales. The luxury residential brand launched by PIAK Group is LANUVO, located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District.
LANUVO Phase 1 consists of four units, while Phase 2 includes seven units. Phase 1 received occupancy approval in May 2022, and Phase 2 began pre-sales in September 2022. At the time, Cha publicly promoted LANUVO as a “successfully sold-out project.”
However, registry records show that all four Phase 1 units are jointly owned by Cha Ga Won and her husband, not by PIAK Group. Ownership was transferred to the couple personally on June 7, 2022. Multiple large loans were taken out using the units as collateral, with borrowing amounts reaching tens of billions of KRW per unit.
In August 2024, Lee Seung Gi entered into a 10.5 billion KRW jeonse contract for one of the Phase 1 units. This took place just four months after he signed an exclusive contract with Big Planet Made, a One Hundred subsidiary. It also marked the first actual transaction involving the Phase 1 units since the couple acquired them.
A mortgage with a maximum secured amount of approximately 8.7 billion KRW was registered under Lee’s name. Given that mortgages are typically set at 110–120% of the loan amount, Lee is believed to have borrowed around 7.5 billion KRW. On the same day the loan was executed, 3.6 billion KRW in existing mortgages under Cha and her husband were canceled.
The second transaction occurred in March 2025, when Baekhyun entered into a 16 billion KRW jeonse contract for another LANUVO Phase 1 unit. The maximum secured mortgage registered under his jeonse rights was 12.6 billion KRW (approx. 8.6 million USD).
Baekhyun’s connection to LANUVO predates this move. In June 2023, One Signature, a company linked to Baekhyun and individuals closely connected to Cha Ga Won, took out a loan secured by a 13 billion KRW (8.9 million USD) mortgage. The following day, over 9.1 billion KRW in mortgages under Cha and her husband were cleared. After navigating this complex financial structure, Baekhyun ultimately became a jeonse tenant himself.
The jeonse amounts 10.5 billion KRW for Lee Seung Gi and 16 billion KRW for Baekhyun stand out even among ultra-luxury properties in Seoul.
For context, the highest villa jeonse deposit in Seoul in 2024 was Lee Seung Gi’s 10.5 billion KRW, nearly double the second-highest figure. In 2025, only three villa units exceeded 5 billion KRW in jeonse, with the highest outside LANUVO reaching 7 billion KRW, less than half of Baekhyun’s deposit.
Meanwhile, comparable luxury villas in UN Village have sold for around 13.7 billion KRW, not jeonse, with similar floor areas.
Real estate experts point out that jeonse deposits are typically 50–70% of a property’s sale price. When the deposit approaches or exceeds the expected sale value, the risk of kkangtong jeonse increases sharply.
One industry insider noted, “There needs to be an objective review of whether properties initially valued at 5–8 billion KRW could realistically justify jeonse deposits exceeding 10 billion KRW in such a short period. If jeonse deposits surpass the home’s value, tenants face a very high risk of not recovering their money.”
After Lee Seung Gi’s contract in mid-2024, Cha Ga Won reportedly used other Phase 1 units as collateral to secure additional loans totaling over 15 billion KRW (10.2 million USD). One unit is now listed online with an asking price of 22 billion KRW, a figure significantly higher than comparable properties.
However, LANUVO Phase 1 units also reportedly have smaller land ownership ratios compared to other luxury villas, further complicating valuation.
If LANUVO Phase 1’s true market value falls below even the jeonse deposits, and the property were to enter foreclosure or auction, the financial burden would shift to the tenants. Lee Seung Gi and Baekhyun could be left responsible for outstanding loans estimated at roughly 7 billion KRW and 10 billion KRW, respectively.
In short, should repayment issues arise, the artists, not the landlord, could ultimately bear the heaviest losses.
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