Lee Seung-gun, CEO of Viva Republica (Toss), has publicly apologized following controversy over an April Fools' Day company event that promised to sell his home and provide lifetime housing support to 100 employees.
According to industry sources on Tuesday, Lee posted on social media the previous day, saying "Housing has been a long-standing concern of mine, but the April Fools' format may have conveyed the gravity of the issue too lightly," adding "There were aspects I failed to fully consider."
Lee explained the intent behind the event, stating "This has been an annual company event, but this year's response exceeded expectations. It started from a desire to express gratitude to my colleagues."
He added, "While I cannot solve the entire housing problem through individual effort alone, I will fulfill my responsibility as a community member by returning profits from real estate transactions to society."
On April 1, Lee had posted an internal announcement stating that 100 randomly selected employees would receive full monthly support for rent or mortgage interest payments until they owned their own homes. He generated significant attention by revealing he would fund this by selling his personal residence. The announcement drew particular interest amid rising loan rates and tightened real estate regulations that have increased housing cost burdens for ordinary citizens.
However, the event was subsequently scaled back significantly. The number of beneficiaries was reduced from 100 to 10, and lifetime support was changed to a lottery for one year of housing expenses. Critics called it "an event that carelessly exploited the reality of ordinary people suffering from housing difficulties."
Lee's April Fools' events have been an annual company tradition. Last year, he personally funded trips to Japan for 100 randomly selected employees. In 2022, he announced plans to give away 20 Tesla vehicles before providing 10 employees with one-year free leases. Analysts suggest this year's event became controversial because housing costs are directly connected to pressing social issues.
Lee resides at Eterno Cheongdam, considered a symbol of Korea's most expensive residential properties. According to official housing prices released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport this year, the 464.11-square-meter unit at Eterno Cheongdam has an assessed value of 32.57 billion won, up 12.51 billion won (62.4%) from the previous year, ranking first nationwide for the second consecutive year.
Eterno Cheongdam was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, a recipient of the Pritzker Prize, often called the Nobel Prize of architecture. The building comprises just 29 units across 20 floors above ground and four basement levels. The sale price was 200 million won per 3.3 square meters, the highest in Korea, with single-floor units featuring 4-meter ceilings and duplex units reaching 7 meters.