This article was published on April 7, 2025, at 4:04 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
JMC Corporation and TAE KWANG CORPORATION are selling land near Samseong Central Station. Currently, construction of an office building is underway, but it has been reported that they decided to sell due to a liquidity crisis.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 7th, the area of the land owned by JMC Corporation and TAE KWANG CORPORATION is about 1,137.6 square meters, and construction of an office building with two underground floors and nine above-ground floors is underway. However, the office building is excluded from this sale as the contractor is currently exercising a lien.
The land in question was purchased by KH Philux from Yeonsung Apparel, which operates fashion brands CLRIDE.n and TOPGIRL, in 2019. KH Philux demolished the building previously used by Yeonsung Apparel as its headquarters and began construction of a new building. However, needing funds for the acquisition of Alpensia, KH Philux sold the land and building to TAE KWANG CORPORATION in 2022 before the construction was completed. The sale price at that time was about 58.4 billion won.
After acquiring the land and building from KH Philux, JMC Corporation and TAE KWANG CORPORATION planned to continue construction and use it as their headquarters while leasing part of it. However, they faced a liquidity crisis and halted construction. Following that, issues regarding short and long-term borrowing funds also arose, leading them to pursue the sale of the land.
The land, located near Samseong Central Station, is considered prime real estate, with the Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) headquarters and COEX nearby. The industry expects that, considering the building permits acquired for office and neighborhood life facilities and transaction examples in the surrounding area, it could be traded at around 60 million to 65 million won per pyeong.
However, the contractor's current exercise of a lien on the building under construction is considered a variable. It has been reported that JMC Corporation has failed to secure additional funding and has been unable to properly pay the contractor. Since the building needs to be completed after acquiring the land to be utilized later, it is anticipated that the sale will be difficult before resolving the legal issues.
An industry insider noted, "The land is essentially a distressed asset due to PF problems, and the complex rights situation with the lien makes it difficult to sell in the short term. However, given that it is located in an area of Gangnam with particularly active office transactions, there is a possibility that corporations or developers in need of a headquarters may show interest in it."