"Seven Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Yoon Administration Fail to Report Stock Sales and Blank Trusts" (Comprehensive)

Kyungrye Seon Announces Implementation Status of Blank Trusts for Ministers and Vice Ministers
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family: "Minister Kim Hyun-sook Is Not Subject to Blank Trust"

Members of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) are making a presentation on the morning of the 26th at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the compliance status of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's mandatory blind trust for stocks held by ministers and vice ministers.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] It has been revealed that nearly half of the ministers and vice ministers in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration who hold stocks worth more than 30 million won have not sold their stocks or reported blind trusts. Civic groups have decided to continue legal battles against the Ministry of Personnel Management, which does not disclose information on conflict-of-interest reviews.

On the 26th, the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) announced the status of stock blind trust compliance among ministers and vice ministers of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

According to the CCEJ, among 16 ministers and vice ministers holding stocks worth more than 30 million won, seven have yet to sell their stocks or report blind trusts. When the total amount of stocks held by the individual and related parties exceeds 30 million won, a conflict-of-interest review must be requested from the Stock Blind Trust Review Committee. The CCEJ revealed that Lee Ki-soon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (1.82 billion won), Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (990 million won), Cho Yong-man, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (450 million won), Lee Jong-seop, Minister of National Defense (160 million won), Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification (90 million won), Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare (70 million won), and Jang Young-jin, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (50 million won) have not reported.

There were also ministers and vice ministers suspected of still holding stocks worth more than 30 million won despite having reported stock sales and blind trusts. These include Kwon Ki-seop, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor (760 million won), Park Woon-gyu, Vice Minister of Science and ICT (190 million won), Lee Ki-il, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare (90 million won), Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (50 million won), and Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor (40 million won), totaling five people. The CCEJ stated, "Since the Ministry of Personnel Management does not disclose conflict-of-interest review information, there is suspicion whether the conflict-of-interest review for the remaining stocks was properly conducted."

On September 22 of last year, the CCEJ requested disclosure of the review details from the Ministry of Personnel Management to verify whether the conflict-of-interest reviews for ministers and vice ministers were properly conducted. However, on October 21 of last year, the Ministry of Personnel Management notified non-disclosure based on the Public Officials Ethics Act and the Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Institutions.

On the 18th, the CCEJ announced that it filed an administrative appeal against the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Stock Blind Trust Review Committee regarding the non-disclosure decision of conflict-of-interest review information. The CCEJ said, "The purpose of the Public Officials Ethics Act is to ensure that high-ranking public officials transparently disclose unjust assets," adding, "Not being able to disclose information on conflict-of-interest reviews undermines the foundation of the stock blind trust system."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family explained, "The stocks held by Minister Kim and Vice Minister Lee were determined by the Stock Blind Trust Review Committee to have no conflict of interest," and stated, "They are not subject to stock blind trust."