[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that a building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which served as a safe house for former North Korean Workers' Party Secretary Hwang Jang-yop, was recently sold at a public auction for 12 billion won. After Hwang's death, the building was used as a private meeting space by the Ministry of Unification before falling into disuse and remaining vacant for some time. An official from the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) stated, "We determined that selling the building was a rational choice due to its aging condition."
According to the Korea Asset Management Corporation, the Nonhyeon-dong building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which was used as a safe house for the late Hwang Jang-yop, was sold for 12.01 billion won at the sixth round of bidding on the 26th. The building was constructed in May 1977, north of Hak-dong Station on Subway Line 7, with one basement level and two above-ground floors (total floor area of 279㎡). Although the building's initial appraised value was approximately 18.4 billion won, the minimum bid price dropped to the 11 billion won level after five failed auctions. The final bid is 65% of the appraised value. The buyer has not been disclosed.
The registered use of the auctioned building is for neighborhood living facilities. The government received this building, originally built as a detached house, from an individual as payment in kind (tax payment) in December 1993. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (then Ministry of Finance) used it as a residence until transferring management rights to the Ministry of Unification in November 2011. After taking over, the Ministry of Unification changed the building's use from a detached house to a neighborhood living facility (office), before returning it to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in October 2019.
The existence of this building became public knowledge upon the death of former Workers' Party Secretary Hwang Jang-yop. Hwang was the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect to South Korea in 1997, having served as Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly for 11 years. Following his defection, the government designated this building, which was managed by the Ministry of Finance at the time, as Hwang's safe house. Hwang, who continued his writing and lecturing while serving as chairman of the Institute for Unification Policy under the National Intelligence Service after his defection, passed away here in October 2010. The building's existence was revealed to the media immediately following his death.
After Hwang's death, the building was used as a meeting space for the Ministry of Unification, as it was no longer suitable for a safe house once its location became public. In November 2011, the year after Hwang's death, the Ministry of Unification changed the building's purpose to an office and named it the "Nonhyeon-dong Meeting Room." It was reportedly used as a facility for private meetings, including those involving the Minister and Vice-Ministers, or for receiving outside guests. It remained vacant for some time after management rights were transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in October 2019.
The current appearance of the building's surroundings hints at the tight security that was once in place. A 3-meter-high wall surrounds the property, and metal rings and barbed wire were installed on the inside of the wall. It is said that while Hwang resided there, multiple closed-circuit cameras (CCTV) and infrared sensors capable of 360-degree surveillance operated on the roof and walls. Currently, these security facilities have been removed. According to the relevant appraisal report, while the registered use is a neighborhood living facility, the actual condition of the property is identified as residential.
A KAMCO official stated, "This property was handed over to the Ministry of Economy and Finance after the Ministry of Unification ceased using it, and it is currently being managed by us, the trustee organization," adding, "We proceeded with the sale because it was considered rational to pursue efficient utilization through disposal, as the aging, vacant building would be unusable without extensive renovations."