Kyungsillyeon "Seoul District Mayors Report Apartment Prices at 56% of Market Value"

Top 10, Average Real Estate Assets per Person Increase by 400 Million to 3.5 Billion Won Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] An analysis revealed that the apartment prices reported by district mayors in Seoul amount to only 56% of the market value.

According to the "Analysis of Real Estate Assets of 25 Seoul District Mayors" released on the 1st by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), the total apartment assets reported by 16 district mayors who own apartments, including themselves and their families, amounted to 12.45 billion KRW, averaging 780 million KRW per person. Calculated at market prices as of March, their apartment assets were about 10 billion KRW higher than the reported amount, totaling 22.4 billion KRW, with an average of 1.4 billion KRW per person. CCEJ explained that they compared the reported apartment assets with market prices by referencing public disclosures of officials' assets and real estate price information from sources such as KB Kookmin Bank.

The three district mayors with the highest apartment assets showed a difference of over 1 billion KRW between the reported amount and market value. Gangnam District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun reported a 72-pyeong apartment in Gangnam District at 1.66 billion KRW, but the market price was 3.28 billion KRW, meaning the reported amount was only 51% of the market value. Jungnang District Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi reported two apartments at 1.88 billion KRW, but the market price was 3.2 billion KRW, and Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun’s reported apartment value was 1.51 billion KRW, 1.19 billion KRW lower than the market price of 2.7 billion KRW.

There were cases where the reported apartment assets were less than half of the market value. Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok reported one apartment at 283 million KRW, but as of March, the market price was 720 million KRW, meaning the reported amount was only 39% of the market value. Seongbuk District Mayor Lee Seung-ro reported two apartments at 432 million KRW, but the market price was 979 million KRW, which is 44% of the market value, and Geumcheon District Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon’s reported apartment value of 487 million KRW was about 45% of the market price of 1.09 billion KRW.

The total real estate assets (buildings and land) reported by 25 Seoul district mayors amounted to 42.9 billion KRW, an increase of 7.1 billion KRW compared to the 35.8 billion KRW disclosed last year. This corresponds to an average increase of 280 million KRW per person. The top 10 in real estate assets reported an average of 3.5 billion KRW per person, which is 440 million KRW higher than the previous year.

The district mayor with the largest real estate assets was Gangnam District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun, who reported 8.1 billion KRW. His real estate assets increased by 1.07 billion KRW compared to last year. Following him were Jongno District Mayor Kim Young-jong (7.9 billion KRW), Seocho District Mayor Cho Eun-hee (6 billion KRW), Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun (2.7 billion KRW), Jungnang District Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi (2.7 billion KRW), and Songpa District Mayor Park Sung-soo (2.2 billion KRW).

A CCEJ official stated, "Due to the rise in housing prices since the Moon Jae-in administration, the real estate assets of Seoul district mayors increased by 280 million KRW in one year," and criticized, "If assets were reported at market prices and there were no refusals to disclose family members' assets, the reported assets would have increased even more." They added, "Due to the reporting of official land prices and public prices that do not reflect market prices, and the indiscriminate allowance of refusal to disclose, public officials’ assets are being underreported," emphasizing, "The Public Officials Ethics Act should be amended to require reporting at market prices rather than reduced official prices, and verification should be strengthened."

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