Park Hyung-jun: "Is it wrong for parents to buy a house for their adult son... No illegality or special favors"

On the 19th, a Urgent Press Conference to Refute Point by Point the Allegations Raised by the Ruling Party and Some Media

Park Hyung-jun, the People Power Party candidate for Busan mayor, is holding a press conference related to the sale of LCT apartments at his campaign office on the 15th. [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “What is wrong with a father purchasing a house from his adult son through a normal transaction?”

Park Hyung-jun, the People Power Party candidate for Busan mayor, held an emergency press conference on the 19th to refute allegations related to the house he lives in, stating that there was “no illegality, corruption, or special favors at all.”

Regarding his wife purchasing the LCT pre-sale rights from their son, he claimed it was a “normal sale.”

Park said, “The essence is whether there was any illegality, corruption, or special favors in Park Hyung-jun living in LCT,” adding, “It is important to clarify that there was no illegality, corruption, or special favors.”

He also said, “I thought it unnecessary to reveal family matters, so I have not provided detailed explanations until now, but to dispel suspicions, I will explain the process of purchasing LCT,” and added, “The children are adults who legally belong to the paternal family, and I believe they should not be the target of criticism.”

Park acknowledged that he purchased the house from his wife’s son, Choi Mo, but insisted there was no special favor or illegality.

He claimed that the person who sold the apartment to his son Choi was a general person in their 50s, completely unrelated to the LCT side, including the Lee Young-bok family.

Park explained that Choi, who bought the apartment, tried to sell it again, but the transaction did not go through, and eventually his wife purchased the house by adding about 100 million KRW, which was the average premium at the time.

Park said, “Even as the move-in deadline approached, the house did not sell, so after asking four real estate agencies about the market price, my wife took over the house by adding a premium.”

Park also announced that he would take legal action against false reports by some media regarding LCT artworks.

He explained, “Company A won the contract for artworks at LCT, and Company B, a sculptural specialty company represented by my son Choi, was a subcontractor,” adding, “Although Company A won the bid, they were not in a position to handle foreign artists.”

He continued, “Company B provided works by artist Pablo but did not receive payment of 520 million KRW and filed a lawsuit against Company A.”

Park said, “My wife retired from the Johyun Gallery in 2019, and the gallery is now entirely run by my son,” adding, “While my wife was running the gallery and I was in politics, she never intervened in the gallery nor arranged for anyone to buy artworks.”

Regarding allegations related to Hongdae entrance exams, he also drew a clear line, saying, “There was no improper request or investigation cover-up at all.”

Park said, “A Hongdae professor claims that the 2008 investigation into entrance exam corruption at Hongdae was dismissed due to external pressure and alleges that there was a request for exam fraud based on his memory,” adding, “This is a completely baseless claim, and since I have filed criminal and civil lawsuits, the truth will be revealed in court.”

Regarding claims that his child did not even apply to Hongdae, he said, “I will not argue about that issue,” adding, “The essence is whether there was a request, which is completely untrue, and at that time, my child was attending a foreign university.”

Regarding special favor allegations related to the installation project of sculptures in front of LCT raised by some media, he said, “The company run by my wife’s son subcontracted the sculpture installation project but has not even received payment from the primary contractor and is suffering damages,” adding, “I will take legal action against reports that turn victims into beneficiaries of special favors.”

He also pointed out, “The rise in real estate prices occurred after purchasing LCT, and the cause was the Moon administration’s real estate policies.”

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