"Gym Worth Hundreds of Millions, Told to Leave?" Trainer Yang Chi-seung Files Complaint Against Gangnam-gu Over Eviction Demand

CEO Yang Chi-seung Receives Eviction Notice from Gangnam District Office
20 Years Ago, 'Store Eviction After Free Period Ends'
Merchants Uninformed of This Fact Take Legal Action

Yang Chi-seung, CEO of Body Space, known as a fitness trainer for famous celebrities, reportedly filed a lawsuit against Gangnam-gu, Seoul, after experiencing conflicts over a gym lease contract.

On the 10th, Korea Economic Daily reported that Yang Chi-seung and other merchants recently filed a complaint with the police against Gangnam-gu on charges of obstruction of business. Yang and others urged, "Guarantee the contract period specified in the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act and withdraw all lawsuits filed against the merchants." It was also reported that they filed a fraud complaint against real estate developer Company A, which had signed the lease contract.

Photo by Trainer Yang Chi-seung SNS capture

The related lawsuit arose after Gangnam-gu acquired the management and operation rights of the building where Yang had signed the lease contract and operated the gym.

The building in question is a commercial property located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, built in 2002 as a private investment project by Gangnam-gu Office and the developer. The developer set a donation condition at the time and signed an agreement stating that after 20 years of free use, the management and operation rights of the building would be transferred to Gangnam-gu Office. The agreement also included a clause that tenants must vacate the leased commercial spaces when the free use period ends.

However, merchants who signed lease contracts with Company A and moved in claimed they were unaware of the scheduled eviction a few years later. Yang signed a lease contract with Company A in 2018 and opened a gym on the basement first and second floors of the building. The media reported that Yang leased a 946㎡ space, paid tens of millions of won in monthly rent, and invested hundreds of millions of won in remodeling while preparing to open.

Besides Yang, about ten other merchants signed lease contracts with Company A between 2017 and 2022 and operated businesses in this building and another nearby building. They ran restaurants, cafes, PC rooms, etc., paying rent ranging from tens of thousands to millions of won.

Company A transferred the management and operation rights of the two buildings to Gangnam-gu in November 2022 and August last year, after the free use period ended. Gangnam-gu, having received the rights, notified the tenants that they must vacate according to the agreement. A banner was hung at the building entrance stating, "All current tenants are subject to eviction; please take note when using tenant businesses." Additionally, in July and September last year, Gangnam-gu filed real estate delivery lawsuits against the merchants. The reason for not renewing contracts and demanding eviction has not been disclosed.

Merchants, unaware of the agreement, strongly opposed the situation. They claimed that sales plummeted after the banner was hung and rumors of imminent relocation spread. Yang’s side stated, "If we had known we had to leave after four years, we would not have leased this building or invested in remodeling." They criticized, "Gangnam-gu Office is aware that these eviction conditions were not notified but is still pressuring merchants to vacate."

Meanwhile, trainer Yang Chi-seung gained recognition as a fitness trainer for famous celebrities through appearances on TV programs such as MBC’s ‘I Live Alone’ and KBS2’s ‘The Manager Has Donkey Ears.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.