Lee Pil-mo Reveals Secret to Owning Buildings: 'Entrusted All Earnings to Mother for 20 Years'

Actor Lee Pil-mo has become a hot topic after recently revealing the secret behind his success as a building owner on Channel A's 'Best Friends Tokumentary - Table for Four'.

When asked by Park Kyung-lim if his mother was happy when he succeeded as an actor, Lee Pil-mo humorously shared that his mother even prepared her own autographs. Regarding financial management, he admitted, "I'm not good at managing money. We originally had a house in Bangbae-dong, but my mother was so skilled at financial planning that as we moved a few times, those assets grew significantly," attributing all success to his mother.

Reflecting on his childhood financial situation, he expressed deep respect for his mother, stating, "My mother raised us children through saving and frugality." He candidly described his father as someone who "never earned money his entire life" and lived like a carefree gentleman. Lee Pil-mo recalled difficult times when his mother would sustain the family for a month on just a few tens of thousands of won saved from community savings groups. He vividly remembered eating two large, salty mackerel for a week, costing only 500 won, emphasizing his mother's incredible spirit of saving.

Regarding his earnings as an actor, Lee Pil-mo confessed, "From the moment I started receiving appearance fees, I only kept a few million won for myself and gave the rest, over ten million, to my mother. I did this for about 20 years." He added, "I only needed enough to have a drink with friends occasionally, so I had no need for more money."

He marveled at his mother's exceptional investment acumen. "While I was doing theater, my mother would call and say, 'Come quickly and stamp this.' When I went up, I'd stamp it, and it turned out to be a building or something significant," he explained, admiring her foresight. "At every major crossroads in life, I would ask my mother, and she would clearly say, 'Isn't it like this?' That insight allowed me to become the actor I am today," he expressed, conveying his longing and gratitude for his mother.

Lee Pil-mo debuted as an MBC contracted actor in 1993 and has remained a consistently popular actor for over three decades. He notably captured audiences with his portrayal of Kim Taek's father in 'Reply 1988' and as a warm doctor in 'Hospital Playlist.' He is currently happily married to Seo Soo-yeon, who is 11 years his junior, and they are raising two sons together.