Average Wealth of 12 Democratic Party Members Accused of Speculation: From 38 Million to 5 Billion KRW

Kim Hoe-jae Tops with 4.934 Billion KRW, Yoon Jae-gap at 38 Million KRW

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The average assets of 12 lawmakers who were advised to leave or be expelled from the Democratic Party leadership amounted to about 1.5 billion KRW. They are suspected of trying to gain wealth through real estate speculation, with individual assets ranging from 38 million KRW to 5 billion KRW.

According to the regular asset disclosure by the National Assembly Public Officials Ethics Committee on the 9th, the total assets of the lawmakers amount to approximately 18.2 billion KRW, with an average of about 1.519 billion KRW.

Lawmaker Kim Hoe-jae reported the highest assets at 4.934 billion KRW, followed by Kim Ju-young (3.210 billion KRW), Moon Jin-seok (2.453 billion KRW), Kim Han-jung (2.129 billion KRW), and Kim Soo-heung (1.732 billion KRW), all reporting assets exceeding 1 billion KRW.

Other lawmakers such as Woo Sang-ho reported 900 million KRW, Lim Jong-sung (731 million KRW), Yang Yi-won-young (608 million KRW), Seo Young-seok (530 million KRW), Oh Young-hoon (432 million KRW), and Yoon Jae-gap (38 million KRW) hold relatively smaller assets.

Lawmaker Kim Hoe-jae, who is suspected of name-trust fraud, owns two apartment buildings worth about 4 billion KRW located in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and Seobinggo-dong, Yongsan-gu, as well as land worth about 290 million KRW in his constituency, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do. He has protested, saying, "The National Rights Commission's request for investigation is a clear mistake; I demand an immediate apology and withdrawal of the investigation request."

Lawmaker Kim Ju-young reported selling all his apartments and officetels for about 940 million KRW but still holds building assets worth about 846 million KRW and deposits worth about 1.879 billion KRW. He also owns multiple lands in Gyeonggi and Gyeongbuk regions. He stated, "It is harsh to brand me with a scarlet letter through witch-hunt style allegations just because I am a politician," and expressed his intention to clear the suspicions.

Among the 12, Lawmaker Yoon Jae-gap, who has the smallest assets, is suspected of violating the Farmland Act. He owns multiple lands in Haenam, Jeollanam-do, his constituency, with declared value around 51 million KRW and has debts of about 223 million KRW.

Lawmaker Oh Young-hoon reported orchard land in Seogwipo, Jeju, suspected of violating the Farmland Act, valued at 168 million KRW. He stated that he actively intends to clarify the situation, explaining that he farmed the land until the end of 2017 and has since leased it to local residents.