[Comprehensive] Yoon Seok-yeol's Side Releases 'Father's Sales Contract'... Truth Dispute Accelerates

Open Sympathy TV "July 2019 was when Former Prosecutor General Yoon was nominated" raises suspicion
Yoon Camp "We only signed the contract without knowing the personal details of the person brought in"
Yoon "I know Kim Man-bae but have no friendship... If there is suspicion, just investigate"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, is announcing foreign and security policy pledges at the People Power Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] A tense standoff continues between former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's camp and the YouTube channel 'Open Sympathy TV' over a real estate transaction between Yoon's father, Yoon Ki-jung, an honorary professor at Yonsei University (90), and Kim Myung-ok (60), the sister of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management. With Yoon's camp threatening criminal charges in response to the allegations raised by Open Sympathy TV, the dispute is expected to intensify.

On the 28th, Open Sympathy TV raised bribery suspicions regarding the sale of Yoon's father's Seoul Yeonhui-dong residence in 2019 to Kim, who is both Kim Man-bae's sister and a director of Cheonhwa-dongin No. 3.

Open Sympathy TV claimed, "The owner of Cheonhwa-dongin, who received dividends worth thousands of billions of won from the Seongnam Daejang-dong development project, conducted a real estate transaction with Yoon's father," adding, "July 2019 was when Yoon was nominated as Prosecutor General."

In response, on the 29th, Yoon's camp released the sales contract from that time and stated, "We will file a criminal complaint this afternoon for violations of the Public Official Election Act against Open Sympathy TV for their malicious and repetitive dissemination of false information."

Yoon's camp explained, "Due to honorary professor Yoon Ki-jung's health issues, the house was listed at 20 million KRW per pyeong through a real estate agency, and the contract was made without knowing the personal details of the person brought by the agent," dismissing the allegations by saying, "If it had been a direct sale, there would have been no reason to pay real estate brokerage fees."

They further emphasized, "The buyer, Mr. Kim, was an unknown person at the time in 2019, with no reason to mention any Cheonhwa-dongin investment or personal family relations," and added, "There was no creation of a down contract, and only the full sale price of 1.9 billion KRW was received."

They also noted, "For reference, the brokerage fee stated in the sales contract was reduced, so the actual brokerage fee paid was lower than that recorded in the contract."

Additionally, they explained, "The 1.115 billion KRW paid for the newly purchased apartment was paid with the proceeds from selling the Yeonhui-dong house. At that time, Professor Yoon was hospitalized for a long period due to hip surgery, so the house was put up for sale and sold immediately when a buyer appeared."

Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General's camp, disclosed the sales contract of Yoon's father's house in Yeonhui-dong on the 29th. / Photo by Yoon Seok-yeol Camp

In response, Open Sympathy TV strongly refuted, saying, "Yoon Seok-yeol's camp's explanation is false," and criticized, "It's too inconsistent. A sales contract in a situation suspected of a down contract? This is the response of someone who doesn't even know what a subscription savings account is."

Open Sympathy TV pointed out, "Although they claim the sale was rushed at a price lower than market value due to the father's health issues, the dates on the certified copy of the register show that the full balance was already paid and a new apartment was purchased before selling the Yeonhui-dong detached house, so there was no need for urgent cash."

Regarding the claim that the house was listed for quick sale at 10 nearby locations around Yeonhui-dong, they criticized, "A full survey of all real estate near the property found no registration of the property (owned by Yoon Ki-jung) as being for sale," and demanded, "They must provide a convincing explanation as to why a 4 billion KRW market-value house was sold under a down contract for 1.9 billion KRW."

After finishing a meeting with retired sergeants in Jongno-gu that day, Yoon Seok-yeol told reporters, "If there are suspicions, then investigations should be conducted."

He explained, "In 2019, when I was head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, my father was sitting on a wheeled chair in his honorary professor's office and slipped, fracturing his hip," adding, "The Yeonhui-dong house was built in 1974 and lived in for 45 years, but there are many stairs from the gate to my father's room."

He continued, "Since we didn't have enough money to buy an apartment, we put the Yeonhui-dong house on the market," and said, "Three people came to see the house, liked the location and the price was lower than market value, so the contract was made. How would I know who bought it?"

Regarding Kim Man-bae, he said, "He must have visited the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, so it's unreasonable to say I don't know him," but clarified, "There is no personal friendship or contact between us," adding, "I think I once exchanged eye contact at the funeral of a current prosecutor several years ago, and the last time I saw him in the legal community was about 9 or 10 years ago."

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