Jin Joong-kwon on President Moon's Residence Controversy: "It's Nothing Special... Is There Really Nothing Else to Criticize?"

Bitter Criticism Toward the Opposition
"With Their Level... No Wonder They Failed"
Opposition Previously Raised Allegations of False Career Records and Landform Alteration
Former Chief Noh Young-min: "Proceeding According to Law... Issue Already Verified"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized the controversy surrounding the site for President Moon Jae-in's residence after his retirement, saying, "It's nothing special," and asked, "Is there really so little to criticize?"

On the 15th, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "With people of this level, no wonder it failed," expressing his opinion.

In the post, he shared an article reporting on the site for President Moon's residence. The article, titled "President Moon Jae-in's residence 796 pyeong, 2.5 times that of former President Lee Myung-bak... Security building construction cost twice that of former President Park Geun-hye," mainly compared the sizes of the residences of President Moon and former Presidents Lee and Park.

According to the article, the site for President Moon's residence, currently being developed in Jisan-ri, Habuk-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, measures 2,630.5㎡ (approximately 796 pyeong). This is significantly larger compared to former President Lee's residence site in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (1,023㎡, about 309 pyeong) and former President Park's site in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul (406㎡, about 123 pyeong).

Jin also pointed out that "such articles are a social evil."

President Moon Jae-in attended and delivered a congratulatory speech at the appointment ceremony for new police lieutenants and captains held at the Police University in Asan, Chungnam, on the afternoon of the 12th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, President Moon purchased the Yangsan residence site, including farmland, in April last year for post-retirement residence purposes. The opposition party raised suspicions that the agricultural management plan submitted to acquire the farmland was falsely written. According to the plan, President Moon's farming experience was recorded as 11 years.

There were also allegations that after purchasing the land as "farmland" at a lower price, the usage was changed, suggesting the possibility of real estate speculation tactics.

Regarding this, Yoon Young-seok, spokesperson for the People Power Party, issued a statement on the 13th, saying, "There is a Farmland Act that prohibits ownership of farmland unless it is used for agricultural management, so anyone would be puzzled by the 'President's 11 years of farming experience'." He added, "Converting farmland to residential land just nine months after purchase is no different from the reasons LH employees are criticized."

He continued, "The very person who criticized former President Lee Myung-bak's residence site for 'greed' and 'avarice' is President Moon Jae-in himself," urging, "He should put aside emotional anger and come forward to explain the details directly to the public."

Former Chief of Staff to the President, Noh Young-min, attending the full meeting of the National Assembly Steering Committee in November last year, responding to lawmakers' questions. / Photo by Yonhap News

In response to these allegations from the opposition, the ruling party dismissed them as "not false entries."

Former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 15th, "Everything regarding the purchase of the residence site was conducted according to the law. The facts have already been confirmed," and claimed, "The opposition is merely trying to tarnish the president for political gain ahead of the by-elections."

Regarding the suspicion that President Moon falsely recorded his farming experience, he rebutted, "The president's farming experience is not as a full-time farmer or for sales purposes, and farming experience is not a prerequisite for acquiring farmland," adding, "It is possible to acquire farmland even without farming experience."

On the allegation of changing the land's characteristics after purchase, he explained, "It was done according to the law," and said, "The existing residence had many security vulnerabilities, and the site for building security facilities was extremely limited, so relocation was inevitable."

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