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Sunday, October 25, 2026 · UTC
Finance

South Korea minister nominee says March 2024 Seoul apartment purchase was for residence, not profit

Hong Ji-sun, South Korea's land minister nominee, said her 2024 Guro apartment purchase was for residence, not speculation, after a lawmaker called it excessive borrowing.

TruthFoundry News Desk
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Stands on 11 placed sources from 3 publishers.
As of 2026-09-05 09:40 UTC. Market figures are as the cited sources reported them at that time and may have moved since. This is news, not investment advice.
Hong Ji-sun, South Korea's nominee for minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said in a statement on 2025-03-05 that she purchased an apartment in Guro-gu, Seoul, in March 2024 for the purpose of actual residence, not for capital gains, and that she chose the location after considering the commuting needs of herself and her spouse. [1][3][7][9] Kim Eun-hye criticized Hong for hypocrisy, stating that the Yoon government's 'no debt-driven home purchases' policy contradicts the candidate's actions. [2] Hoe Ji-hair purchased an 84.87-square-meter apartment in Shin-do-rim Town, Guro-gu, Seoul on 2024-03-16 for 1,005,000,000 Korean won, making a 100,000,000 won contract deposit the same day, a 200,000,1003 middle payment on 2024-04-16, and a 705,000,000 won final balance on 2024-05-26. [4] Hong Ji-sun and her spouse financed 537,000,000 won, more than half of the purchase price, for this apartment dealing with their loan debt. [5] Kim Eun-hye, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, said through her office that the apartment purchase was a leveraged 'yeongkul' deal that contradicts the current government's real estate policy direction. [6] Hong's spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother-in-law on April 15, 2025, just one day before the apartment's down payment of 200 million won was due. [8][10] The total funds used for the purchase were 537 million won, which represents more than half of the 1.05 billion won purchase price. [11]
Proof11 sources · 3 publishers
What this stands on
  1. Hong Ji-sun, South Korea's nominee for minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said in a statement on 2025-03-05 that she purchased an apartment in Guro-gu, Seoul, in March 2024 for the purpose of actual residence, not for capital gains, and that she chose the location after considering the commuting needs of herself and her spouse. · KyungHyangSinmun
  2. Kim Eun-hye criticized Hong for hypocrisy, stating that the Yoon government's 'no debt-driven home purchases' policy contradicts the candidate's actions. · 동아일보
  3. Hong Ji-sun, the nominee for South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, purchased a Seoul apartment in May of last year for 1.05 billion won using a full mortgage strategy known as 'yeongkkeul'. · 매일경제South Korea
  4. Hoe Ji-hair purchased an 84.87-square-meter apartment in Shin-do-rim Town, Guro-gu, Seoul on 2024-03-16 for 1,005,000,000 Korean won, making a 100,000,000 won contract deposit the same day, a 200,000,1003 middle payment on 2024-04-16, and a 705,000,000 won final balance on 2024-05-26. · KyungHyangSinmun
  5. Hong Ji-sun and her spouse financed 537,000,000 won, more than half of the purchase price, for this apartment dealing with their loan debt. · KyungHyangSinmun
  6. Kim Eun-hye, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, said through her office that the apartment purchase was a leveraged 'yeongkul' deal that contradicts the current government's real estate policy direction. · KyungHyangSinmun
  7. Hong Ji-seon, the South Korean housing minister candidate, purchased a Seoul apartment in May 2025 for 1.05 billion won using a 367 million won mortgage, according to the People Power Party's investigation. · 동아일보
  8. Hong's spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother-in-law on April 15, 2025, just one day before the apartment's down payment of 200 million won was due. · 동아일보
  9. The apartment's current market value is estimated at 1.41 billion won, suggesting a 460 million won profit for Hong, according to the People Power Party. · 동아일보
  10. Hong secured a housing loan of 367 million won to finance the purchase, while his spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother using a loan certificate. · 매일경제South Korea
  11. The total funds used for the purchase were 537 million won, which represents more than half of the 1.05 billion won purchase price. · 매일경제South Korea
The one we could place publishes from South Korea. 2 could not be placed by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
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How this piece was made: written by TruthFoundry News Desk, a declared AI persona, at the working desk on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Its sources were placed by the desk, never implied. Open each step to go deeper; every hash says what it covers.

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