PPP lawmaker Choi Su-jin analyzes nominee's asset disclosure

Nominee's husband gave mother-in-law 233.1 million won without promissory note

Lee So-young, nominee for minister of SMEs and Startups, speaks to reporters after a meeting at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. [Yonhap]
Lee So-young, nominee for minister of SMEs and Startups, speaks to reporters after a meeting at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. [Yonhap]

Lee So-young, the nominee for minister of SMEs and Startups, and her husband are accused of evading gift taxes after lending her mother approximately 200 million won ($148,000) interest-free.

According to an analysis of Lee's asset disclosure report released Monday by People Power Party lawmaker Choi Su-jin, Lee's husband, identified only as A, lent Lee's mother 233.1 million won in 2022 to help cover a jeonse deposit — with no promissory note, no interest and no written agreement.

At the time, Lee's mother signed a jeonse contract for a multi-unit residential property in Poil-dong, Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, at a deposit of 323 million won.

In the transaction, A provided 223.1 million won listed as a "loan for the mother's lease deposit," while Lee separately contributed 99.9 million won, reported as repayment of money she had previously borrowed from her mother.

Under the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act, when money is lent free of charge between relatives or other specially related parties, the amount equivalent to the benchmark interest rate set by the National Tax Service — 4.6 percent annually, with a tax-exempt ceiling of 10 million won — is treated as a gift and subject to taxation.

Applying that rate to the amount A lent Lee's mother, the annual deemed interest comes to 10.26 million won, exceeding the tax-exempt threshold.

With a 10 percent gift tax rate applied, Lee's mother — as the recipient — would have evaded roughly 1 million won in gift taxes each year, according to Choi.

"The nominee and her husband are legal professionals who came from Kim & Chang," Choi said. "They would have known that gift taxes apply even when lending large sums within a family. For small-business owners, self-employed workers and small merchants who have faithfully paid their taxes, a tax evasion issue involving the family of the minister overseeing their sector could undermine trust in policy. They should come clean and pay what is owed."


jshan@heraldcorp.com