MC Mong (Shin Dong-hyun) and TV personality Noh Hong-chul. Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo
It has become known that The Mu Co., Ltd., a corporation co-founded by MC Mong (Shin Dong-hyun), sold a building while accepting a loss.
According to Financial News on the 22nd, The Mu sold the building to TV personality Noh Hong-chul for 15.2 billion won earlier this month and recently completed the transfer of title. The Mu had acquired the property from TV personality Kang Ho-dong in November 2024 for 16.6 billion won.
The sale generated a nominal loss of 1.4 billion won relative to the purchase price. Including ancillary costs such as acquisition tax, registration tax, and loan interest, the actual loss is estimated to exceed 2.0 billion won.
The Mu is a corporation held in both names, with Chairman Cha Gawon as CEO and MC Mong listed as an inside director. The two jointly purchased the building as they expanded their business after co-founding the entertainment agency One Hundred Label in 2023.
Their relationship then deteriorated rapidly. In November last year, CEO Cha initiated legal proceedings against MC Mong seeking repayment of a 12.0 billion won loan and obtained a court order for payment.
As MC Mong did not file an objection within the statutory period, the payment order was finalized.
At the time, his side stated, “The debt is not a loan but the remaining balance under a stock-transfer contract,” and “there is neither a lawsuit nor a property seizure.” The payment order remained finalized, and MC Mong was thereafter effectively removed from the position of general producer at One Hundred.
Only a few months after the payment order was finalized, MC Mong is disposing of jointly held corporate assets while accepting a loss.
The Garosu-gil building market is in a structural slump. According to the real estate industry, in the fourth quarter of last year the vacancy rate in the Garosu-gil commercial area was 45.2 percent, far exceeding major Seoul districts such as Gangnam (18.9 percent), Cheongdam (15.7 percent), and Seongsu (3.4 percent).
Noh Hong-chul, who took over the property, is said to have relied heavily on loans for this purchase. The maximum amount secured by the mortgage established simultaneously with the transfer of title amounts to 18.0 billion won, and the actual borrowing is estimated at around 14 to 15 billion won. In 2018, Noh provided another building in Sinsa-dong that he bought for 12.2 billion won as additional collateral. The current estimated market value of that property is around 23.6 billion won.
