Noh Hyung-wook Exempted from 11 Million Won Acquisition Tax on Sejong Apartment Without Actual Residence

Nomhyunguk, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is arriving at the personnel hearing preparation office set up at the Seoul Regional Land Management Office in the Government Gwacheon Complex on the morning of the 29th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] It has been revealed that Noh Hyung-wook, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, received an acquisition tax exemption for a Sejong City apartment obtained through special allocation, despite not living there.

According to data obtained on the 29th by the office of Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the People Power Party, Noh acquired an 84㎡ apartment in Eojin-dong, Sejong City, for 272.5 million KRW in 2011 through the "special allocation for relocated public officials." He rented it out without residing there until 2017 and then sold it for 500 million KRW.

Kim's office also explained that Noh received a full exemption on the acquisition tax of 11.28 million KRW and local tax of 1.12 million KRW imposed on the apartment. According to the Local Tax Special Cases Act, public officials relocating from central administrative agencies can receive tax reductions such as acquisition tax if they acquire a house with the intention to reside in the area. However, since Noh did not live in the Sejong apartment, there are criticisms that he unfairly benefited.

Kim's office further reported that Noh received a monthly relocation support allowance of 200,000 KRW from January 2013 to December 2014 from Sejong City.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "It is regrettable that despite Noh having served in budget-related departments for a long time, this has become an example of budget waste," adding, "Many citizens suffer due to housing-related taxes, so I question whether this is the right attitude for a public official."

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