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Trot Singer Lim Young-woong's 'Mecenatpolis Penthouse' Seized Over Unpaid Taxes

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed through BizHankook's investigation that trot singer Lim Young-woong's residence was seized due to unpaid local taxes. The seized property is the "Mecenatpolis," a mixed-use apartment complex located in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

On October 16 of last year, the Mapo-gu Office in Seoul seized the Mecenatpolis penthouse owned by trot singer Lim Young-woong. Lim purchased the penthouse—one of only four units on the top floor of Mecenatpolis—in September 2022 for 5.1 billion won and has been residing there. The unit has a private area of 223.31㎡ (67 pyeong) and a supply area of 294.71㎡ (89 pyeong), featuring five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The registration for the seizure on Lim's Mecenatpolis unit lists the cause as "Seizure (Collection Division-19632)" and the rights holder as "Mapo-gu (Seoul Metropolitan Government)." Since the Mapo-gu Collection Division is responsible for collecting local taxes, non-tax revenue, and traffic fines, it can be inferred that Lim was delinquent in these related payments. An official from the Mapo-gu Office explained, "Because it is personal information, we cannot disclose exactly which taxes Lim Young-woong failed to pay, but seizures are carried out when taxes or fines are in arrears."

The seizure registration on Lim's apartment was only canceled on January 13, three months after it was initiated. This means Lim paid off his tax arrears in full after three months. However, when including the period of delinquency notices and seizure warnings from the Mapo-gu Office, it took about a year for the seizure to be cleared, which may lead to criticism that Lim, as one of South Korea's top trot stars, took his "duty to pay taxes" too lightly.

BizHankook contacted Lim Young-woong's agency, Mulgogi Music, multiple times to hear their side of the story, but we were unable to reach them.