Ministerial nominees' real estate records under scrutiny

People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik delivers opening remarks at a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. (Lee Sang-seop)
People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik delivers opening remarks at a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. (Lee Sang-seop)

The People Power Party is widening its offensive against the Lee Jae Myung administration's cabinet nominees, pressing its campaign to block the appointments of ministerial candidates Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in while also spotlighting real estate controversies surrounding other nominees, including Defense Ministry nominee Kang Shin-cheol.

With polls showing majority opposition to the appointments of Kim and Yong, the PPP appears to be broadening its attack to other nominees' allegations in a bid to seize the initiative in the confirmation hearing season that followed the Aug. 30 cabinet reshuffle.

The party on Friday zeroed in on the real estate records of multiple ministerial nominees. The move comes as debate over the government's real estate policy — including tax reform and the controversy over housing supply at Yongsan Park — continues to intensify, with the PPP using nominees' property histories to expand the scope of its attack.

Secretary-General Jeong Hee-yong said at a floor strategy meeting Friday that Finance Ministry nominee Lee Hyeong-il had owned an apartment in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province for 17 years after purchasing it, yet actually lived there for only four months. "That apartment is currently undergoing reconstruction," he added.

He also said Ministry of SMEs and Startups nominee Lee So-young had lived in a Seoul apartment in Seodaemun-gu — purchased in 2016 — for only four years, and that the actual transaction price of the property more than doubled while she was renting a jeonse unit in her own constituency.

Floor Policy Deputy Leader Kim Mi-ae said that if the Lee Jae Myung government applied to its own nominees the standards it holds ordinary citizens to, "most of the ministerial candidates would be ruinous speculators." She also said Defense Ministry nominee Kang, his father, brother and aunt had all been hit with allegations of illegal demolition, special pre-sale allocations and fraudulent address registration.

The real estate issues surrounding Land Ministry nominee Hong Ji-seon and Yong were also raised. Kim said Hong had advocated for public housing while taking out loans covering more than half the purchase price of his own home and relying on his mother-in-law's assistance. She also claimed Yong had sold a property after holding it for just 11 months, pocketing a profit of 20 million won ($14,900) in what amounted to a quick flip.

Five-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won also joined the chorus. In a Facebook post Friday, Na said the jeonse price increase for Seoul apartments this year had reached 4.8 times last year's rate, and that average monthly rent had surpassed 1.6 million won within just six months. "The biggest victims are single-homeowners and young people being pushed to the edge," she wrote.

Na went on to say that five of the six ministerial nominees in the Lee Jae Myung government's second cabinet were embroiled in real estate controversies, calling it "a jaw-dropping contradiction and a shameless double standard." She added that legislation should be introduced to strip senior public officials of their eligibility if their actions contradict the policies they themselves promote.


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