Choi Inho Named Final Candidate for HUG President

Choi Inho, a former two-term lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, has been virtually confirmed as the new president of the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG). Amid heightened importance of guarantee risk management due to the aftermath of losses from rental deposit guarantees and a slowdown in the construction market, he is expected to end the leadership vacancy and stabilize the organization.

Choi Inho, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

According to government and industry sources on January 23, HUG held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Nam-gu, Busan, at 11 a.m. the previous day and selected Choi as the final candidate among multiple nominees. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoonduk will recommend his appointment to President Lee Jaemyung, and following presidential approval, Choi will officially take office as HUG president. His term will be three years.

Choi previously served as a member of the National Assembly for Saha-gap, Busan, during the 20th and 21st sessions, and was secretary of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from August 2022 to May 2024. Ahead of his appointment as HUG president, he recently left the Democratic Party of Korea.

HUG is a public corporation responsible for rental deposit return guarantees, pre-sale guarantees, and the management of the Housing and Urban Fund. In 2023, the financial burden increased significantly as the amount of subrogation payments for rental deposit fraud surged. Former president Yoo Byungtae stepped down in July last year after receiving an 'insufficient' rating in management evaluations for two consecutive years, and Yoon Myungkyu, head of the Management Strategy and Asset Management Divisions, has been serving as acting president.