‘Are you still hiring?’: K-pop king G-Dragon gifts flats to long-serving staff, sparks online buzz

Known for his exceptional loyalty, the pop icon has developed a strong bond with his long-term team

K-pop superstar G-Dragon’s decision to gift his long-serving staff members flats worth a combined total of hundreds of millions of won (around several hundred thousand USD) has sparked a frenzy among netizens, with some asking, “Are you still hiring?”

Dubbed the “King of K-pop,” the 38-year-old singer Kwon Ji-yong, better known as G-Dragon in the entertainment industry, is one of the most popular stars in South Korea and across Asia. He is the leader of BigBang, one of the world’s bestselling boy bands.

In late April, it was revealed that G-Dragon had gifted some “core members” of his Team GD flats valued at hundreds of millions of won.

It is unclear how many employees received these gifts, but they reportedly include “the managers and core staffers” who have accompanied G-Dragon for 20 years, since his early days in the industry, according to the news portal 163.com.

“My philosophy is: my treatment comes second – my people’s homes come first,” the K-pop icon once stated to the media.

G-Dragon earned more than 65 billion won (US$44 million) from his agency, Galaxy Corporation, last year, the report indicated.

He owns a building valued at 8.8 billion won in Seoul, along with several top-tier luxury mansions, bringing his total real estate portfolio to around 56 billion won.

G-Dragon is well-known for his generosity towards his staff. Their compensation includes salaries that are double the industry average, as well as extravagant gifts like gold bars, diamonds and watches that G-Dragon periodically distributes to them.