Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs, Recently Reported 4.4054 Billion KRW
Top is Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, with 16 Billion KRW... Semiconductor Patent Income
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The average assets of the first-term cabinet under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, consisting of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and 18 cabinet members, were found to be 4.09 billion KRW.
Among the cabinet members, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, who joined the cabinet most recently, reported assets worth 4.4054 billion KRW, marking the first time since the new government’s inauguration in May last year that the overall average was calculated.
According to the high-ranking public officials’ asset registration details published on the 24th in the electronic official gazette by the Public Service Ethics Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Lee reported total assets of 4.4054 billion KRW, including an apartment in Apgujeong, Gangnam, Seoul (2.448 billion KRW) and 1,511㎡ of forest land in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, registered under his spouse’s name (391 million KRW).
Based on the official gazette registration, the cabinet member with the highest reported assets in the first-term cabinet is Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho. Minister Lee’s total assets amount to 16.04305 billion KRW, most of which, according to his office, come from patent income. He is a world-renowned scholar in the semiconductor field, having developed the world’s first 3D semiconductor technology called ‘Bulk FinFET.’
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo followed with assets totaling 8.509 billion KRW. The largest portion of Prime Minister Han’s assets was in deposits, with 3.27 billion KRW under his name and 1.9 billion KRW under his spouse’s, totaling 5.18 billion KRW.
Next were Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook (4.52562 billion KRW), Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se (4.4155 billion KRW), Deputy Prime Minister Lee Ju-ho, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min (4.24357 billion KRW), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Chu Kyung-ho (4.09438 billion KRW), Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young (4.09354 billion KRW), and Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon (3.93799 billion KRW), in that order. The cabinet member with the least assets was Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan (1.08905 billion KRW).
Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT is speaking at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting held on the 18th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
Among the 18 cabinet members excluding Prime Minister Han, nine owned homes in the three Gangnam districts (Seocho, Gangnam, Songpa) either in their own or their family’s names.
These include Ministers Chu Kyung-ho (Gangnam-gu), Lee Ju-ho (Gangnam-gu), Kim Hyun-sook (Seocho-gu), Lee Jong-ho (Seocho-gu), Lee Sang-min (Gangnam-gu), Lee Young (Seocho-gu), Han Dong-hoon (Seocho-gu), Lee Jong-seop of Defense (Songpa-gu), and Park Bo-gyun of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Gangnam-gu). The average number of houses owned was 1.3 per person.
The timing of asset disclosures for the first-term cabinet members was August 2022 for Han Duck-soo, Lee Jong-ho, Lee Jong-seop, Lee Sang-min, Park Bo-gyun, Jung Hwang-geun of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lee Chang-yang of Trade, Industry and Energy, Han Hwa-jin of Environment, Lee Jung-sik of Employment and Labor, Kim Hyun-sook, Cho Seung-hwan, Won Hee-ryong of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Cho Kyu-hong of Health and Welfare; and March 2022 for Chu Kyung-ho, Park Jin, Kwon Young-se, Lee Young, and Han Dong-hoon.
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