Park Myung Soo's wife Han Soo Min purchases another Starbucks building for 17.35 billion KRW (~9.9 million USD)

Park Myung Soo’s wife and dermatologist, Han Soo Min, has reportedly made approximately 8.1 billion KRW (~5.8 million USD) in profit from selling two Starbucks buildings and has now purchased another Starbucks building.

According to News1 and Building Mate Real Estate Brokerage, on June 27, Han Soo Min recently bought a building in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, for 13.7 billion KRW (~9.9 million USD). This building used to house a Starbucks store and now features a remodeled building with some floors already leased.

In July 2021, Han Soo Min purchased a building in Seogyo-dong for 13.7 billion KRW (~9.88 million USD). At the time of purchase, the building was vacant, although it had previously been occupied by a Starbucks store.

After completing the ownership transfer in November 2021, Han Soo Min took out a loan of about 10 billion KRW (~7.2 million USD) to acquire the building under her name.

Construction began in April 2022, and the new building was completed in October 2023. The original structure, which had a basement and two above-ground floors, was transformed into a building with two basement levels and five above-ground floors. In March 2023, before completion, she secured an additional loan of about 5 billion KRW (3.6 million USD).

The new building covers a land area of 395.7 square meters (approximately 119.7 pyeong) and a total floor area of 1234.4 square meters (approximately 373.4 pyeong).

Currently, some floors of the building, which span from two basement levels to five above-ground levels, are already leased. It houses a dessert café and entertainment offices.

The building is located near Hongdae Station, boasting excellent accessibility and visibility.

Within a 200-meter radius, there have been transactions in 2023 at prices up to 140 million KRW (~100,948 USD) per pyeong (35.58 sq ft), and in the main walking street of Hongdae, prices have reached up to 190 million KRW (~137,000 USD) per pyeong.

Han Soo Min is renowned for her “Starbucks real estate investment strategy,” where she buys old buildings, remodels them, and leases the space to Starbucks.

In October 2011, she purchased an old building in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, for 2.9 billion KRW (~2.1 million USD) and sold it three years later in July 2014 for 4.66 billion KRW (~3.36 million USD). She had remodeled this building and leased all of its floors to Starbucks.

Another example is the Starbucks building in Bangbae-dong. In October 2014, Han bought the SM Building in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, for 8.9 billion KRW (~6.4 million USD), demolished the existing structure, and built a new one over it. The construction cost was estimated to be around 2.1 billion KRW (~1.5 million USD).

She then sold this building in January 2019 for 17.35 billion KRW (~12.5 million USD), making a profit of 6.35 billion KRW (~4.58 million USD). The current SM Building houses Starbucks Bangbae, a pharmacy, a language school, and a hospital.

Song Na Rae, CEO of Building Mate Real Estate Brokerage, commented, “Han’s recent investment in the Seogyo-dong building is considered very successful, given its location and nearby transaction comps.”

He added, “Considering her past successful investments, high returns are also expected from this venture as well.”