Kyungsillyeon: "Top 5 Multi-Householding Seoul City Council Members Own an Average of 16 Houses Each"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] A civic group investigation revealed that 3 out of 10 Seoul Metropolitan Council members own multiple homes. Among council members with multiple properties, the top 5 each own an average of 16 houses. The average real estate assets per council member amounted to 1.03 billion KRW, more than three times the national average.

According to the analysis of Seoul Metropolitan Council members' housing ownership released by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) on the 2nd, out of 110 council members, 93 (84%) own real estate including direct family members such as parents and children, excluding those who refused to disclose. Seventy-six members (69%) own at least one house under their own or spouse's name. Thirty-four members (31%) own two or more houses under their own or spouse's name. Among them, 9 members own three or more houses, and 34 members (31%) are without a house. The average assets of the 110 council members were 1.26 billion KRW, of which real estate assets accounted for 1.03 billion KRW (80%).

The top 5 multi-home council members own a total of 81 houses, averaging 16 houses per person. Narrowing down to the top 9 members, they own a total of 94 houses, averaging 10 houses per person.

In terms of the number of houses, Kang Dae-ho of the Democratic Party owns 21 multi-family houses and 9 row houses in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, and Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, totaling 30 houses. Other members owning more than 10 houses include Lee Jeong-in (24 houses) and Seong Heum-je (11 houses) of the Democratic Party, and Lee Seok-ju of the United Future Party (11 houses). Notably, council member Lee Jeong-in had the highest declared housing asset value at 4.7 billion KRW.

The declared value of apartments and officetels owned by council members totals 45.4 billion KRW. Calculated at market prices, the total is approximately 73 billion KRW. The CCEJ estimates that the market price reflection rate compared to declared prices for apartments and officetels is only 62%.

The CCEJ stated, "It was impossible to determine market prices for other real estate such as land and commercial buildings because detailed addresses were not disclosed," and argued, "If real estate holdings were declared at market prices, the assets owned by council members would significantly increase."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.