Exclusive
Auction Proceedings Initiated for Paju Building Owned by Im Chang-jung's Company

[비즈한국] A building in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, owned by Like It, a company belonging to singer and actor Im Chang-jung, has been placed under voluntary auction. Yes I Am Entertainment, the talent agency established by Im, is headquartered in this building, though the agency has been effectively inactive since 2023.

Im Chang-jung holds a 100% stake in Like It (formerly Im Chang-jung Co., Ltd.). Like It owns a 32.18% stake in Yes I Am Entertainment. However, Yes I Am Entertainment has effectively ceased operations. The girl group mimiirose, which was under the agency, had their contracts terminated in 2023. The company's website has been shut down, and no new posts have appeared on its Instagram account since October 2023. Im Chang-jung is currently active as an artist under JG Star, not Yes I Am Entertainment.

According to the corporate registry, Like It changed its name from Im Chang-jung Co., Ltd. to its current name this April. There has been no significant business news following the name change. However, Like It retains ownership of the Yes I Am Entertainment headquarters building in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

BizHankook's investigation revealed that the Yes I Am Entertainment building has been provisionally seized and is now facing a voluntary auction. According to the real estate registry, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) provisionally seized the headquarters building in June of this year as a creditor. A provisional seizure is a legal measure taken by a creditor to freeze a debtor's assets and prevent their disposal prior to compulsory execution. The amount claimed by KOTEC is 246,924,000 KRW.

In July of this year, the court granted a request from creditor IBK Industrial Bank of Korea024110 and decided to initiate a voluntary auction of the building. Once the auction is completed, KOTEC, as the provisional seizure holder, may be eligible to receive a portion of the proceeds depending on the results. Under the Civil Execution Act, once the sale proceeds are paid after an auction, the court must follow a distribution procedure. Provisional seizure creditors registered before the registration of the auction initiation decision are included in the scope of creditors eligible for distribution.

Previously, in March of this year, a compulsory auction for this building had been initiated at the request of JG Star, Im Chang-jung's management agency. At the time, JG Star stated it would take legal action, alleging that after receiving a 1 billion KRW advance, Im did not perform concerts and failed to return the advance following the controversy surrounding Societe Generale (SG) Securities.

However, in May of this year, JG Star announced, "We had sincere and long conversations with Im Chang-jung," and added, "We have resolved our misunderstandings and decided to join hands once again." The compulsory auction of the Yes I Am Entertainment building was subsequently withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Im Chang-jung recently announced his return to entertainment activities. He appeared on the 'KBS National Tour Concert' last October and is scheduled to release a remake of the song 'If I Hold You in My Arms' on November 6. Im had suspended his activities for approximately two years after being embroiled in allegations of involvement in the 2023 SG Securities-linked stock market crash. At the time, Im claimed that individuals involved in the stock manipulation had approached him under the guise of offering an investment in Yes I Am Entertainment before soliciting him to invest in stocks. BizHankook contacted JG Star to obtain their stance on this matter, but did not receive a response.