![President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/21/rcv.YNA.20260721.PYH2026072109490001300_P1.jpg)
Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday dismissed claims of a personal or special relationship between President Lee Jae Myung and the buyer of his home, calling the allegations groundless.
The presidential office said in a notice that Lee and his wife had lived in the home as their sole residence for 28 years, and that they sold it below market price — forgoing expected gains from a planned reconstruction — to demonstrate commitment to stabilizing the real estate market.
Cheong Wa Dae said the sale was conducted through a real estate agent in the standard manner.
On the registration of a mortgage of approximately 1.7 billion won ($1.15 million), the office said the title transfer was made in consideration of the buyer's circumstances, and that the mortgage was set up transparently under a civil agreement between the parties. It added that the mortgage covers an unpaid balance due at the end of October.
Cheong Wa Dae also rebuffed claims that the property received preferential treatment through its designation as a priority reconstruction zone, noting that the designation was made in November 2024 under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, when the Seongnam mayor was also a member of the People Power Party. The claim of preferential treatment in the reconstruction designation is therefore absurd, it said.
The office urged the public and media to be mindful of claims and reports that misrepresent the facts surrounding the president's disposal of his private residence.
Earlier, Supreme Court registry records showed that the apartment at Geumho Complex 1 in Yangji Village, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province — jointly owned by Lee and his wife Kim Hye-kyung — was sold for 2.9 billion won on July 14, with the ownership transfer registration completed on July 16.
moone@heraldcorp.com
