'Real Estate Suspicion' 청 Anti-Corruption Secretary Steps Down After 3 Months (Summary)

President Moon Accepts Kim Gi-pyo's Resignation as Anti-Corruption Secretary... Controversy Continues Despite Denial of Real Estate Speculation Motive

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] Kim Ki-pyo, the Blue House Anti-Corruption Secretary, stepped down from his position after three months amid a real estate controversy. Despite his explanation that the purchase of land (forest land) in Songjeong-dong, Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province was not for real estate speculation purposes, the controversy did not subside, leading to his resignation.

Park Soo-hyun, the Blue House Chief of Public Communication, announced at a Chuncheon press briefing on the 27th, "Today, Secretary Kim expressed his intention to resign to the President, and President Moon Jae-in accepted it." Secretary Kim was forced to resign in disgrace just three months after the announcement of his appointment as the Blue House Anti-Corruption Secretary on March 31.

Chief Park stated, "Even if Secretary Kim did not acquire real estate for speculative purposes, he expressed that considering the duties of a public official and social responsibility that the public expects, he should no longer be a burden to the administration."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Secretary Kim is a legal professional (lawyer) who previously served as the senior prosecutor of the Special 1st Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and as a research officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. He was appointed as the Blue House Anti-Corruption Secretary with about a year left in the Moon Jae-in administration but left the Blue House early due to the real estate controversy.

The controversy surrounding Secretary Kim's real estate began in earnest on the 25th when the Government Official Ethics Committee announced the June interim asset disclosure. As a newly appointed (senior) public official at the Blue House, he disclosed his assets. He reported approximately 50 million KRW worth of forest land in Songjeong-dong, Gwangju. The land was adjacent to the Gwangju Songjeong district, raising suspicions of real estate speculation.

Secretary Kim explained, "The land in question is an area where no development activities are possible even if roads are opened due to Gwangju City's urban planning ordinances," and "It is completely unrelated to the Songjeong district development project." He also expressed his intention to promptly dispose of the land.

Although Secretary Kim explained the controversy surrounding him, suspicions did not easily subside. In particular, while he owned only one apartment (jointly owned with his spouse), it was revealed that he owned commercial property worth over 6 billion KRW in Magok-dong, Seoul. Including apartments, commercial buildings, and officetels, Secretary Kim's real estate assets amount to 9 billion KRW.

The view of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Notably, Secretary Kim reported financial debts of 5.6 billion KRW, which are known to have been incurred during the purchase of the commercial property in Magok-dong.

The controversy over Secretary Kim borrowing a large sum of money to hold real estate continued. Although he explained that it was neither illegal nor real estate speculation, criticism that he was a burden to hold the Anti-Corruption Secretary position led to his resignation.

The Blue House did not hide its embarrassment as the controversy surrounding Secretary Kim continued. President Moon's immediate acceptance of Secretary Kim's resignation is not unrelated to this atmosphere within the Blue House. A Blue House official explained, "During personnel screening, we checked real estate details and thoroughly examined the acquisition process and funding methods, concluding that the acquisition was not for speculative purposes."

Regarding the background of President Moon's acceptance of the resignation, a Blue House official said, "(If) the explanation did not reach a level acceptable to the public's standards, it is natural for the appointing authority to take measures that meet an acceptable level, which shows listening to the public's perspective."

A Blue House official said, "We acknowledge that the Blue House verification system is not perfect and humbly accept ongoing criticism," adding, "(Regarding the verification system) if there are any institutional improvements needed, we will actively review them."