Cho Hyun, nominee for Minister of Foreign Affairs, reportedly earned a profit of over 1 billion KRW by purchasing a road site under his spouse's name just before it was designated as part of a New Town development, during his past tenure at the Blue House. Amid allegations of real estate speculation using undisclosed information, Cho's side explained on the 25th, "A real estate agent recommended purchasing the road site based on our financial situation at the time, which led to the acquisition of the property."
Cho Hyun, nominee for Minister of Foreign Affairs, is answering reporters' questions as he arrives for his first day at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up in Daewoo Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul on June 24, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun
On this day, Cho released a statement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing these details. He stated, "At the time of the purchase, I did not own a home, and with the funds I had, it was difficult to secure a residence, so I was looking into various areas." He added, "It was widely known at the time that redevelopment plans were expected for the Hannam-dong area."
He continued, "Because redevelopment in Hannam-dong was delayed, we held onto the property for a long period. Later, as redevelopment activities resumed and real estate prices continued to rise, we still decided to sell the property in December 2020, in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's policy for senior public officials to refrain from owning multiple homes."
He further clarified, "I was not in a position or reporting line at the Presidential Secretariat that handled redevelopment-related work," and emphasized, "The allegation that the property was purchased using insider information is completely untrue."
Previously, JoongAng Ilbo reported that Cho's spouse purchased a road site in the Yongsan-gu area of Seoul in 2003, while Cho was serving at the Presidential Secretariat under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and sold it 17 years later for a profit of about 1 billion KRW. The area, including the road, was designated as Hannam New Town just five months after Cho's spouse acquired the property.
On his way to work that day, Cho responded to reporters' questions by saying, "I have never owned anything other than a single apartment," and reiterated, "Although I felt lucky, it was by no means a case of malicious speculation."
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