Choi Eunsun, Mother of Kim Keonhee, Owns 21 Properties Nationwide as a 'Real Estate Mogul'
Seongnam City Has Already Seized All 21 Properties
Gyeonggi Province Moves to Auction Seoul Building and Land Through KAMCO
On December 17, Gyeonggi Province initiated public auction procedures for a building and land in Seoul owned by Choi Eunsun, the mother of Kim Keonhee, who has overdue taxes exceeding 2.5 billion KRW.
Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, stated on the same day, "Choi Eunsun currently holds the highest amount of personal tax arrears nationwide, possessing real estate worth hundreds of billions of KRW, yet she has persistently refused to pay. Despite her refusal, I want to make it clear that we-Gyeonggi Province and Seongnam City-will see this through to the end by auctioning off the seized properties, and we will uphold tax justice."
Previously, under the special directive of Governor Kim Dongyeon, Gyeonggi Province had launched an intensive collection campaign against Choi Eunsun since October. On this day, together with Seongnam City, the province requested the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) to auction one of the two buildings and a parcel of land in Seoul among the 21 seized properties belonging to Choi.
According to a Gyeonggi Province investigation, Choi owns an impressive portfolio of 21 real estate properties: 12 in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province (all land), 1 in Namyangju City (land), 3 in Seoul (land, building, building), 4 in South Chungcheong Province (land), and 1 in Gangwon Province (land). The province described Choi as a 'real estate mogul,' noting that she had bought land across the country as if she were shopping.
Kang Minseok, spokesperson for Gyeonggi Province, commented, "Not only does Choi Eunsun's family, including Kim Keonhee, face suspicions of running a family business in Yangpyeong County, where they own significant land holdings, but they have also extended their reach to South Chungcheong Province and Gangwon Province. In Seoul, she owns two buildings, yet she was behind on her taxes (including penalties) by as much as 2.5 billion KRW and ultimately did not pay."
Regarding why Gyeonggi Province is auctioning off real estate in Seoul for unpaid provincial taxes, Kang clarified, "There is no separate 'justice of Gyeonggi Province' or 'justice of Seoul City.' Since the value of the building in Seoul exceeds Choi's overdue amount of 2.5 billion KRW, we are requesting the auction of that building and land."
Gyeonggi Province explained that, since all 21 properties have already been seized by Seongnam City, there are no legal or procedural issues with requesting the auction of any of them. The province plans to use the proceeds from the sale of Choi's Seoul real estate for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
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