Candidate Hong Ji-seon explains 'the purpose of stable actual residence' in response to suspicions about purchasing a 'youngkkeul' house
Quick Look
- Hong Ji-seon, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, clarified that she purchased her home for stable actual residence rather than for capital gains, in response to opposition party criticism regarding her “all-in” housing purchase.
- She stated that she currently resides in a Seoul Sindorim apartment, which she bought for 1.05 billion won under joint ownership with her spouse.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Candidate Ji-seon Hong announced that she purchased the apartment for actual residence purposes in March 2025 while serving as vice mayor of Namyangju, and explained that she is currently currently residing there.
For stable living with a dual-income wife
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Ki-chang = Hong Ji-seon, the candidate for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, responded to the opposition party's point out on the 5th that he had purchased an apartment in Seoul with a 'low price' by borrowing money from his wife's family in addition to the mortgage loan, and explained to the effect that "it is for stable actual residence and not for the purpose of capital gains."
In an explanatory material distributed to the media on this day, Candidate Hong said, "The apartment in question was purchased for actual residence purposes when I was serving as deputy mayor of Namyangju in March 2025, before the inauguration of the current government, and I have been living in it since then."
Previously, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye's office revealed that while candidate Hong purchased an apartment in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul for 1.05 billion won in joint names with his spouse in May 2025, candidate Hong borrowed 367 million won through a mortgage loan, and his spouse borrowed 170 million won from his mother.
Rep. Kim's office pointed out that the current market price of the apartment in question is around 1.41 billion won, and that Candidate Hong purchased the apartment with cash around 460 million won and reaped a market profit of around 400 million won in just over a year, pointing out that this amounts to a 'purchase of young people' and runs counter to the current government's real estate policy stance of regulating excessive lending.
Candidate Hong explained that he has been living in a rented house in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu since May 2021, and that he purchased an apartment in Sindorim, which is not far from his previous living area, considering the commuting distance to Namyangju, where he works, and Seohae-gu, Incheon, where his spouse works.
Candidate Hong said, “The purchase of the house in question was made in the process of relocating the house for the purpose of stable residence with my wife, who is both working, and is different in nature from the purchase of a house for the purpose of capital gains.”
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The People Power Party will continue its intensive offensive at the hearings, demanding the disclosure of additional data.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What is the plan to repay the 170 million won that my spouse borrowed from his mother?
- It has not been confirmed whether the apartment in question has a rental or monthly rental income.
- No specific data was provided on candidate Hong's actual income level and loan repayment ability.
