Lee Hyehun, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, expressed her regret on the 15th regarding the controversy over alleged fraudulent applications for the Banpo Raemian One Pentas apartment complex, explaining, "My spouse applied after reading the recruitment announcement and meeting the requirements."
Lee Hyehun, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is arriving at the confirmation hearing office set up at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul on January 9, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
It was reported that Lee made this statement in a written response to the National Assembly's personnel hearing questionnaire submitted on this day. She said, "Since a complaint has already been filed during the confirmation hearing preparation process, I expect a thorough investigation to be conducted, and I will follow the results of the government agencies' investigation." She added, "I will do my best to promptly have the legality recognized and to bring the controversy to an end," expressing her intention to refute allegations of fraudulent applications.
Regarding the source of funds for the apartment purchase, Lee stated, "Out of the purchase price of 3,678.4 million won, I paid 1,290 million won, and my spouse paid the remainder." She further explained, "Of my share, 540 million won was a gift from my spouse, 200 million won was borrowed from my mother-in-law, and the rest was raised through my own savings and other means." It is known that Lee won the apartment subscription and realized a market profit of over 3.5 billion won.
In response to allegations that she verbally abused and mistreated her aides during her time as a member of the National Assembly, Lee said, "If such incidents occurred during work, I sincerely apologize to those who were hurt."
However, Lee avoided giving specific answers to allegations related to her children, citing "personal information protection." When asked to submit materials regarding her eldest son's scholarship benefits and suspicions of a so-called "dad's chance" in academic publications, she replied, "These are personal details related to an individual," and "It is difficult to submit them in order to protect personal information." Regarding the allegation that her eldest son used a rental apartment in Sejong City under her name, which raised suspicions of indirect gifting, she stated, "My eldest son pays a usage fee equivalent to the monthly interest on the rental deposit," but did not provide supporting documents.
Regarding suspicions of her spouse's capital gains from land sales in the Yeongjongdo area, Lee explained, "The seller was an overseas Korean who sold the land to my spouse due to personal circumstances." She added, "The land was for public projects acquired through negotiations by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and Incheon Metropolitan City Development Corporation, and the sale price was determined according to laws and procedures."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
