'Half true' April Fool's joke: Toss CEO to cover 10 employees’ rent for 1 year

Lee Seung-gun, founder and CEO of Viva Republica, which operates fintech platform Toss / Courtesy of Viva Republica

For Lee Seung-gun, founder of fintech platform Toss, this year’s April Fool’s Day joke turned out to be — at least in part — no joke at all.

On Wednesday, Lee notified employees that he would sell his Seoul home and use the proceeds to cover the rent and loan interest of 100 Toss staff members for life.

A day later, that over-the-top pledge became a half-reality.

Lee said he would move forward with the sale and use part of the gains to cover the housing costs of 10 employees for one year, while pledging to return the rest to society.

The 10 employees will be selected by lottery during the company’s monthly event on Friday. There will be no cap on the housing support, which will be funded out of Lee’s own pocket.

“My April Fool’s message wasn’t entirely true, but the intent behind it was sincere,” the CEO wrote on a company bulletin board. “I believe profits made from real estate should ultimately belong to society. Going forward, I plan to use all such gains to help address housing issues in the community.”

“To put this into action, I’m considering taking concrete steps in the near future, such as establishing a foundation focused on housing solutions," Lee also said.

Details, including the timing of the sale, have yet to be finalized.

Lee is known to reside in Cheongdam, in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam District, where a 464-square-meter unit in his apartment complex is valued at 32.57 billion won ($21.47 million), according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.