IU has been accused of using insider information to invest in real estate.

A media outlet reported that IU was one of those who saw profit from GTX (Great Train eXpress). She bought land and buildings in Gyeonggido's Gwacheon back in January 2018 for 4.5 billion KRW (approximately 4 million USD). Since then, the property has increased to 6.9 billion KRW (6.2 million USD), giving her a 2.4 billion KRW (2.15 million USD) profit. Others on the list include CEOs and chairmen, but IU's property increased the most.

A real estate insider said, "The government put out GTX to try to control the real estate, but because of that, the area's real estate prices are rising at a rapid rate. We are worried about people trying to profit from the difference in market prices."

While IU did not do anything illegal, netizens are pointing out that what she did is shady. Without any sort of insider information about the government policies on GTX, IU would not have known to buy land that originally was empty, especially since she spent so much on it.