Odongwoon, the nominee for the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit, has effectively admitted to having gifted real estate to his daughter through an irregular method to reduce taxes.
On the morning of the 17th, during the confirmation hearing of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, when asked by Park Suhyeong, a member of the People Power Party, about the 350 million won gifted to his eldest daughter, Oh, in 2020 to purchase land and buildings owned by his spouse, Oh responded "Yes" when Park asked, "Isn't it true that the tax accountant advised you that this was not a reasonable transaction but a way to reduce taxes?" He also apologized once again to the public.
Odongwoon, the nominee for the Chief of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency, is sweeping back his hair during the confirmation hearing held on the 17th at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
During the questioning, Park said, "The media and the public are very angry about the candidate's 'dad chance' and 'husband chance,'" adding, "In August 2020, you sold land and a building registered under your spouse's name to your 20-year-old daughter. This transaction is strange. The father lent money to the daughter, and the daughter used that money to buy the mother's land. Why such a strange transaction? You could have just gifted the land registered under the mother's name to the daughter. Whether the father or the mother gifts it, it's the same thing," and asked, "Why did you do it that way?"
Oh responded, "First, I deeply regret causing concern to the public regarding my daughter's acquisition of real estate," and explained, "Simply put, I sold a house in Sanseong-dong, which I had valued at about 600 million won, to a third party. However, the preliminary contract was abruptly canceled, and in early September 2020, the management disposition plan was approved, making it practically impossible to sell afterward. The sale to my daughter occurred after that."
Park pressed, "Why was it an urgent situation? The price was rising and it was a good property. Why did you have to sell it? Couldn't you have just kept it? If you were going to sell, why sell to your daughter? There is no reason to sell to family."
Park continued, "I think the reason you did this is because if you gift the land to your daughter, which you said is worth about 600 million won, you have to pay gift tax on 600 million won. But since you lent your daughter 350 million won, you only have to pay gift tax on 350 million won. Because of the difference in gift tax, you used this method to make a strange transaction," he pointed out.
Park repeatedly pressed Oh, saying, "It seems that the strange transaction of borrowing dad's money to buy mom's land was to reduce gift tax. Is that correct? If it is, you should honestly admit it and apologize to the public."
Oh replied, "I chose that transaction method after consulting with a tax accountant. I paid 48.5 million won in gift tax on the 350 million won gifted, but given various burdens, the tax accountant advised a reasonable transaction, and I followed that advice."
Park asked again, "It wasn't a reasonable transaction, but the tax accountant said, 'If you do it this way, you can reduce taxes,' right?" Only then did Oh answer, "Yes."
Park urged, "You should say that. You should honestly explain to the public, seek their understanding and forgiveness. If you say, 'The tax accountant informed me of a reasonable method, so I did it,' do you think the public will accept that?" Oh apologized, saying, "I apologize for the parts related to tax reduction that do not meet the public's expectations."
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