[2023 Asset Disclosure] '53.2 Billion' Joseongmyeong, Gangnam District Mayor, Ranked 1st... Cabinet 1st Place Minister Jongho Lee

Wealth Disclosure of 2,037 Senior Officials... Prime Minister Han Deok-su 8.5 Billion KRW, Personnel Secretary Lee Won-mo 44.3 Billion KRW

Among the 2,037 high-ranking public officials who disclosed their assets this year, the individual with the greatest wealth was Cho Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, with 53.2 billion KRW. Mayor Cho reported dozens of officetels in addition to an apartment in Gangnam-gu under his name.

On the 30th, the Government Ethics Committee for Public Officials disclosed the asset declarations of public officials subject to disclosure, including executive branch political positions (minister and vice minister level) and grade 1 public officials, presidents of national universities, metropolitan and provincial superintendents of education, heads of public-related organizations, metropolitan and basic local government heads, and metropolitan council members, through the official gazette.

Mayor Cho, who reported the largest assets, declared land worth a total of 13.195 billion KRW and buildings worth 36.029 billion KRW under his and his spouse's names in areas including Gangnam and Seocho in Seoul, Ganghwa in Incheon, and Dangjin in Chungnam. This includes 39 officetels under his name in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and Sokcho, Gangwon Province; 28 commercial properties in Ilsan (21 neighborhood living facilities and 7 medical facilities); and 8 lodging facilities in Ganghwa.

The wealthiest individual in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration cabinet was Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho, with a total of 14.87 billion KRW. Minister Lee is a semiconductor engineering scholar who developed the world's first 3D semiconductor technology called 'Bulk FinFET' and is known to have significant patent income.

Besides Minister Lee, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo declared 8.52 billion KRW. His real estate holdings include a detached house in Jongno-gu, Seoul, owned by himself (2.75 billion KRW), and forest land in Namdong-gu, Incheon, owned by his spouse (75 million KRW). His deposit holdings amounted to 5.354 billion KRW, an increase of about 17 million KRW compared to the previous declaration (5.18 billion KRW).

Among metropolitan governors, Kim Young-hwan, Governor of Chungbuk, ranked first with 6.65 billion KRW, followed by Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, with 6.44 billion KRW, and Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, with 5.73 billion KRW.

Additionally, Lee Won-mo, Personnel Secretary at the Presidential Office (44.39 billion KRW), Lim Jun-taek, Chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (31.16 billion KRW), and Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (29.38 billion KRW), were among the top wealth holders overall.

Meanwhile, the average assets per person among 2,037 central and local high-ranking public officials were calculated at 1.94625 billion KRW. This represents an increase of 29.81 million KRW compared to the average assets previously declared by the same disclosure subjects. Seven out of ten of these individuals reported an increase in assets compared to their previous declarations. The main factor for the increase in assets was the rise in housing official prices and individual land official prices, contributing 30.03 million KRW (100.7%). The decrease factor, including securities sales or increased debts, resulted in a net asset decrease of 220,000 KRW.