Yoon Seok-yeol: "I Only Found Out Yesterday That the Person Who Bought My Father's House Is Kim Man-bae's Older Sister"

"Kim Man-bae, I don't not know him but we are not close"

People Power Party's Yoon Seok-yeol, a preliminary candidate for the presidential primary, is speaking on the morning of the 29th at Vertex Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, during the event "Dream and Innovation 4.0 Mill Talk, Veterans Speak and Yoon Seok-yeol Listens." Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] It has been reported that the father of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General, sold a house in Yeonhui-dong to Kim Myeong-ok, the elder sister of Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu. In response, Yoon himself clarified, "I don't even know who the buyer was; it was sold through a broker."

On the 29th, after attending the 'Military Talk' event in Jongno, Seoul, where he met with recently discharged sergeants, Yoon told reporters, "I only found out yesterday that the person who bought my parents' house was Kim Man-bae's sister. If there are suspicions about that, shouldn't there be an investigation?"

When asked if he had any personal connection with Kim Man-bae, he said, "They probably worked at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and since I also worked at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office before being transferred to the provinces and later at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, it doesn't make sense to say I don't know them. However, I have no personal friendship whatsoever." He added, "I think I once exchanged eye contact with them at a funeral home a few years ago, probably at the funeral of a current prosecutor official, and the last time I saw them in the legal community was about 9 to 10 years ago."

Regarding the allegations reported by the YouTube channel 'Open Sympathy TV,' Yoon said, "They barged into my father's house, where a person over 90 years old lives, and when asked why they came, it seems they intended to release this around the time of the TV debate."

The previous day, Open Sympathy TV released a real estate registry document showing that Kim Myeong-ok purchased the detached house in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul, from Yoon's father. According to the document, Kim bought the house in April 2019 for 1.9 billion won. Open Sympathy TV reported this under the title 'Hwacheon Daeyu, Bribery Suspicion Detected Involving Yoon Seok-yeol,' even raising suspicions of a 'down payment contract.'

In response, Yoon's camp issued an official statement saying, "The purchase was made through a broker, and the seller would not know who the buyer was," adding, "Due to my father's health issues, the house was sold urgently at a price much lower than the market value." They also announced plans to file a criminal complaint against Open Sympathy TV for violating the Public Official Election Act.

On the same day, Yoon also commented on the house sale, saying, "When my father was hospitalized, we thought it would be better to move to an apartment, so we put the house on the market. Three people came to see the house, said the location was good, and the contract was made. How could I possibly know who the buyer was?"