Candidate Sim Woo-jung Reports Assets of 10.8 Billion Won
Children Take Out 'Hetsalron Youth' Loans for Low-Income Financial Products
Holds 83 Million Won in Stocks Including Nvidia and Apple
It has been confirmed that the child of nominee for Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung received a ‘햇살론 (Haetsalron)’ loan, a low-income financial product operated with government funds. While nominee Shim reported assets worth 10.888 billion KRW for himself and his family, the child who received the 햇살론 loan currently holds overseas stocks worth approximately 83 million KRW.
According to the office of Assemblyman Park Eun-jung of the Innovation Party on the 23rd, Shim’s child born in 1996, who is currently working as a researcher, took out a 4.5 million KRW ‘Solpyeonhan Haetsalron Youth (Youth) loan’ at the Shinhan Bank Legal Town branch in November 2022 during graduate school. The loan repayment deadline is November 24, 2030.
At the time of the loan, the child’s registered residence on the family register was near Gwanak-gu, not Seocho-dong, indicating an independent living status. However, this child moved to Acrovista in Seocho-dong, owned by nominee Shim, in February this year.
According to the asset declaration documents submitted by nominee Shim, this child currently holds stocks worth approximately 83 million KRW (based on valuation, including Apple stocks worth 27.7 million KRW and Nvidia stocks worth 44.73 million KRW). Whether nominee Shim’s child qualifies for the ‘Haetsalron Youth’ loan will likely become a point of contention during the confirmation hearing.
Regarding this, the team preparing for nominee Shim’s confirmation hearing stated, “(The nominee’s child) took out the loan via mobile as financial support needed while living independently,” and added, “There were no procedural or eligibility issues with the loan.”
‘Haetsalron Youth’ is a loan product by the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency designed to reduce financial burdens on financially vulnerable youth, utilizing government funds from the lottery fund. The screening criteria are strict, and loan approvals are sometimes denied. As of this year, out of 97,923 applications for Haetsalron Youth until September, 20,751 were rejected (a rejection rate of 21%).
Assemblyman Park Eun-jung criticized, “While low-income borrowers face blocked access to Haetsalron loans amid economic downturns, threatening their livelihoods, it is morally reprehensible that the nominee’s child, who invests millions of KRW in overseas stocks, receives policy financial support funded by the government budget.”
Meanwhile, nominee Shim’s personal assets amount to 1.422 billion KRW, and his spouse’s assets total 9.279 billion KRW. Shim’s daughter declared assets worth 55.82 million KRW, and his college-aged son declared assets worth 123.43 million KRW. Shim’s spouse, who works as a doctor, reportedly inherited land and buildings following the death of her father, the late Kim Chung-kyung, chairman of Dong-A Pencil, in December 2022. Nominee Shim himself is the son of Shim Dae-pyung, former governor of Chungnam Province and a 17th and 18th National Assembly member.
The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee adopted the plan for nominee Shim’s confirmation hearing on the 23rd and plans to hold the hearing on the 3rd of next month.
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