Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik attends a plenary session of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee on Monday. [Yonhap]
Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik attends a plenary session of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee on Monday. [Yonhap]

Cheong Wa Dae on Monday ordered the introduction of a whistleblower reward program and the establishment of a residency verification system to root out illegal subletting of public rental housing — a practice in which tenants profit by re-renting subsidized units at a markup. Officials also directed relevant ministries to take a hard line against secondary victimization of crime and disaster victims.

Cheong Wa Dae held a senior secretaries and advisers meeting that afternoon, chaired by Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, to discuss measures against illegal subletting of public rental housing, recovery efforts and disaster-prevention checks following heavy rain damage in South Gyeongsang Province, and responses to secondary victimization crimes, Deputy Spokesperson An Gwi-ryeong said in a written briefing.

On the subletting issue, Kang said a case had been uncovered in which a public rental unit with a monthly rent of 180,000 won ($130) was being illegally sublet for 600,000 won a month. "The recurrence of subletting — a problem that has persisted for years — shows that blind spots in oversight still exist," he said.

He directed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and relevant agencies to draw up measures to block illegal subletting, including introducing a whistleblower reward system, expanding on-site inspections and tightening sanctions on violations. He also asked them to review and report on plans to build a system for verifying whether tenants actually reside in their units, in cooperation with local governments and field-based agencies such as the postal service, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation.

Kang then expressed condolences over the deaths caused by heavy rain in the Geoje and Tongyeong areas of South Gyeongsang Province on Monday, Aug. 17. He said ongoing disputes within local government over whether the incident was caused by an artificial slope collapse or a landslide risked inflicting further pain on residents. "Now is the time to focus on swift recovery and stabilizing the lives of affected residents, not on assigning blame," he said.

He noted that some at-risk slopes — including those near the apartment complex where the incident occurred — had not been registered in the Korea Forest Service's digital landslide information system, and ordered their prompt registration. He also stressed the need for preemptive measures such as resident evacuations when warning signs are detected, saying authorities should "inspect and improve risk management systems so that people's lives can be protected even in extreme weather — under the principle that an excessive response is better than an insufficient one."

Kang closed by pledging to take strict action against secondary victimization targeting victims of disasters and crimes, and their families.

He criticized the continued abuse despite the Korean National Police Agency's secondary victimization crimes unit having investigated 272 cases, arrested 112 people and removed or blocked 6,091 illegal posts in its first year of operation. He pointed to recent malicious messages, mockery and conspiracy-theory content targeting the family of a victim in the Jeju disappearance case as examples of the problem persisting. "Disparagement and ridicule directed at victims and their families, the spread of false information, and blame-shifting are clear acts of secondary victimization and serious crimes that inflict further suffering on those already deeply wounded," he said, ordering the Korean National Police Agency to strengthen investigations and criminal penalties as part of efforts to eradicate the practice.


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