We’ve been hearing a lot about celebs being good bosses in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, one of them who impressed me is Louis Koo, actor from Hong Kong, who distributed 1.3 million masks to the needy and staff who work under his production company will work from home. While staff who work in his co-owned restaurants are sent home with no pay cut and no retrenchment.
While in South Korea, there’s a power couple Rain and Kim Tae Hee who are leading by example by being very good landlords. Businesses in South Korea have been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak as the country now has the most number of reported infected cases outside of China. The country’s economy has been badly affected as citizens and tourists are opting to stay home.
It was first reported that Kim Tae Hee had reduced the rent for the tenants of her Gangnam building by 50 per cent, which immediately garnered praise from netizens since Gangnam is known as one of the busiest and most expensive areas in Seoul. Shortly after, her husband Rain, was confirmed to have done the same for the tenants of his building in Cheongdam, an area which is home to numerous luxury brands.
Although the exact figures were not made available to the public, netizens have speculated that the reduction in rental could potentially be hundreds of thousands. “This is the first time in a while that I’ve seen the rich help the poor,” one netizen wrote. “I knew that they are good people, but I didn’t expect this level of generosity from them.”
A variety show star and former professional basketball player, Seo Jang Hoon, made a similar gesture by lowering the rent in three of his apartment buildings, located in Seoul’s Mapo district, by 10 % for the next two months.
Meanwhile, actor Hong Suk Chun took to Instagram to personally announce his decision to lower the rental rate for his building in the Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul’s Yongsan district.
“Has everyone been enjoying Itaewon Class? Right now I’m in Itaewon. I’ve been thinking about how I can help support people. Right now, it’s a good thing that the cost of rent in Itaewon has dropped a lot in recent days.”
“Because a lot of people are struggling while the outbreak of Covid-19 continues to spread, I’m lowering the cost of rent for the tenants in my Itaewon building. It isn’t a lot during this difficult time, but I hope that it helps give people strength,” he said.
The TV personality then challenged other Korean celebs to carry out similar charitable gestures and added: “I hope that the Korean people find strength.”
Source : NST