On September 25, Kim Jong-kook appeared on the YouTube channel “Vivo TV” in an episode of a podcast. During the show, a subscriber asked about the rumors surrounding the “Running Man” member earnings, saying, “After Turbo’s success in 1995, winning music show awards, succeeding in variety shows, and YouTube doing well, there’s a rumor that Kim Jong-kook is richer than Yoo Jae-suk. Can you address this rumor?”
Hearing this, Kim Sook was surprised and asked, “Is there a rumor that your wealth is in the 100 billion won (approx 76 million USD) range?”
To this, Kim Jong-kook replied, “I’ve had popularity, but there were times when I didn’t have money. I was even scammed a few times and didn’t receive money I was owed. I’ve never done any financial investments like stocks, coins, or real estate. All I did was saving money. I don’t even own a house; the rumor that I own property in Hannam is false.”
When asked if he had ever lent money and not gotten it back, Kim Jong-kook admitted, “That’s happened many times. Nowadays, I only lend money I’m comfortable not getting back.”
Kim Sook then asked if he would consider being more proactive with investments. Kim Jong-kook responded, “If there’s a ‘good’ type of investment, I think that could be wise.”
Upon learning this, Song Eun-yi and Kim Sook jokingly suggested the singer invest in Vivo TV, to which Kim Jong-kook replied, “I need to stop getting scammed,” drawing laughter. Meanwhile, Song Eun-yi playfully remarked, “Jong-kook is smart.”
Kim Sook also asked, “So, do you have more money than Yoo Jae-suk?“, to which Kim Jong-kook quickly answered, “Absolutely not. Although brother Jae-suk experienced a long period without fame, he has steadily earned money since.”
He then humorously added, “But I think I might have more than Haha.”
As for his biggest personal indulgence, Kim Jong-kook said, “I feel like you need at least one car. I’ve been driving the same one for 10 years, but I rarely use it anymore, and I have no intention of replacing it. I don’t want any other car. Recently, I bought an electric bike, and I’m enjoying that.”
Meanwhile, on the September 9 episode of a TV show, Kim Jong-kook revealed that he was once the victim of a scam worth billions of won.
At the time, Kim Jong-kook explained, “Because of my image as someone who doesn’t have any sense of finances, I’ve received a lot of calls about investments and requests to borrow money. After much persuasion, I once invested several billions but ended up getting scammed. After that, I decided to stop caring about money that isn’t what I earned through my own work.”.”
Source: Daum
