BTS singer Jimin's home seized over unpaid insurance premiums

SEOUL • The home of K-pop singer Jimin (right) from BTS was seized in January due to arrears in health insurance premiums.

South Korean news outlet Biz Hankook reported on Sunday that Jimin's apartment was seized by the country's National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) on Jan 25 as he had reportedly not paid his health insurance premiums.

The luxury home was bought by Jimin, whose full name is Park Ji-min, for 5.9 billion won (S$6.5 million) in May last year.

Biz Hankook said the 26-year-old singer paid the overdue premiums after NHIS sent four separate notices about the seizure, with the seizure lifted last Friday.

BTS' management agency Bighit Music reacted to the report on Sunday night, clarifying that it was at fault.

"The company receives all the mail which arrive at the artistes' dorms and some of it was omitted by mistake while being delivered to them," it said.

It added that Jimin had not been aware of the issue because of his busy schedule and that he paid the arrears in full as soon as he learnt about them.

Bighit said the matter has been resolved and apologised for its oversight.

BTS held a series of in-person concerts in the United States in November and December before returning to South Korea in December.

Jimin was hospitalised in late January after he underwent surgery for acute appendicitis. He also tested positive for Covid-19 at about the same time.

Last month, BTS staged their first in-person concerts in Seoul in more than two years.

The septet then headed to the US late last month to attend the Grammy awards on April 3 and then hold four live concerts in Las Vegas. They returned to South Korea last week.

On Sunday, Jimin released his first song for a soundtrack, With You, for the K-drama Our Blues, with former Wanna One singer Ha Sung-woon.