People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy "Kim Sang-jo's Dismissal Is Inevitable... Top Blue House Aide Opposed Government Policy"

"Moon Administration Should Not Speak of Real Estate Corruption as Someone Else's Problem"
Criticism by Director Kim, Former Head of Economic Reform Center for 7 Years

Kim Sang-jo, Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House, is giving a farewell speech at a briefing held at the Blue House Chunuchu-gwan on the 29th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy expressed support for President Moon Jae-in's decision to dismiss Kim Sang-jo, the Blue House Chief of Policy, calling it "a natural decision." The organization criticized Kim, who significantly raised the jeonse deposit on his own apartment ahead of real estate-related law amendments, saying, "It means that even the highest-ranking officials in the Blue House do not adhere to the policies they ask the public to trust and follow."

On the 29th, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy released a statement saying, "We cannot help but be outraged by the fact that a top aide in the Blue House raised the jeonse deposit in violation of the policies just before the implementation of laws promoted as tenant protection measures by the government."

They added, "The current public anger and frustration stem not only from Kim's inappropriate conduct but also from the Moon Jae-in administration's repeated piecemeal, delayed, and patchwork policies, which have worsened housing difficulties for ordinary people and exacerbated asset inequality in real estate and other areas," and pointed out, "The Moon administration should not speak of real estate corruption as if it were someone else's problem."

They further emphasized, "The Moon administration must now take measures to strengthen tax policies to eradicate real estate speculation," and stressed, "There must be thorough investigations and eradication of corruption related to public officials' speculative activities, as well as strict mechanisms to recover speculative and development profits."

Kim previously served as the head of the Economic Reform Center at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy from 1999 to 2006. During that time, he led the 'small shareholder movement' aimed at expanding the influence of minority shareholders in corporations and earned the nickname 'chaebol sniper.'

Director Kim leaving after the Chunchoogwan briefing. / Photo by Yonhap News

Kim was appointed as the inaugural Fair Trade Commission Chairman under the Moon Jae-in administration in 2017 and moved to the position of Blue House Chief of Policy in June 2019.

Controversy arose when it was revealed belatedly that on July 29 of last year, two days before the implementation of the so-called 'Three Lease Laws' (right to request contract renewal, rent increase cap, and lease reporting system), Kim raised the jeonse deposit on an apartment he owns in Gangnam by more than 14%. The core of the Three Lease Laws is to limit rent increases to 5%.

As the controversy grew, Kim expressed his intention to resign to Yoo Young-min, the Blue House Chief of Staff, and reportedly conveyed his resignation directly to President Moon.

On the 29th, Yoo Young-min bowed his head at a briefing at the Blue House Chunghwadae Press Center, saying, "President Moon Jae-in appointed Lee Ho-seung, the current Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, as the new Chief of Policy today," and apologized, "We deeply regret causing great disappointment to the public at this critical time when we must focus all efforts on eradicating real estate speculation."

The opposition parties criticized President Moon's decision to dismiss Kim as a 'political scapegoating for election purposes.'

Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, said in a statement that day, "Kim, who said the most important principle of real estate measures was to protect actual users, was aware of the passage of the Lease Protection Act in advance and imposed double-digit jeonse price increases on tenants, who are actual users, for his own benefit," and questioned, "Would he have been dismissed so quickly if it weren't for the election?"

She added, "There is no hypocrisy like this hypocrisy," and sarcastically criticized, "He was called the 'chaebol sniper,' but he turned out to be the 'tenant sniper.'"

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