Cho Kuk on Controversy Over Geum Tae-seop's Children's Assets: "I Haven't Made Big Money, Only Big Losses"

Photo by Jo Guk, former Minister, Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Regarding the fact that the children of former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Geum Tae-seop possess assets worth tens of billions of won, former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk stated that he had gifted 50 million won to his children in the past but suffered a significant loss.

He also emphasized that although the gift was made through legal procedures, he publicly apologized for causing discomfort due to his status as a high-ranking public official. This is interpreted as criticism of Geum’s children for not making any particular statement despite holding assets worth tens of billions of won.

On the 20th, former Minister Cho wrote on his Facebook, "Since yesterday, reporters have been sending messages asking again about last year’s matters and how much profit was made," and stated, "Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim (former Minister Cho’s wife) legally gifted 50 million won to each of their children."

He continued, "After confirming that individual stock holdings were prohibited but private equity fund subscriptions were allowed, we invested this money into a problematic private equity fund upon the recommendation of a fifth cousin," adding, "However, after the (Cho Kuk) incident last year, the value of the problematic private equity fund essentially dropped to zero won, and all the money invested in the fund disappeared. Instead of making a large profit, we suffered a huge loss."

He further said, "Last year, the media and opposition parties launched fierce attacks calling this 'illegal inheritance' and 'wealth succession,'" and "I publicly apologized to the people for causing discomfort regardless of legality as someone who 'has wealth.'"

Earlier, controversy arose over whether the two sons of former lawmaker Geum, known to be co-owners of a villa in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, had received the property through a proper gift. In response, former lawmaker Geum explained, "My late father-in-law gifted a house to the family at the end of 2015," adding, "We accepted it with gratitude and naturally paid all the gift taxes. Currently, this house is leased under a jeonse contract, and the deposit is held in the form of a bank deposit."

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