Democratic Party: "Yoon's In-Law Real Estate Holdings Comparable to New Town Scale... Allegations of Illegal Acquisition Process"

Democratic Party: "Did the in-laws propose easing property tax for their benefit... Yoon must take responsibility based on verification results"

Photo by The Minjoo Party of Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Democratic Party of Korea claimed on the 7th that after verifying the real estate issues related to the family of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, they found that the family owns real estate equivalent to the size of a small new town, and confirmed multiple suspicions including violations of the Farmland Act, the Real Name Real Estate Act, and tax evasion during the acquisition process.

Hong Ki-won, head of the Democratic Party’s election campaign task force for current issues, stated at a briefing held at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, that "Yoon’s family appears to own about 190,000 pyeong of real estate across 57 locations nationwide including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Chungcheong, equivalent to a mini new town scale," and added, "The combined official land price and standard market value exceed approximately 34 billion KRW."

Hong continued, "About 160,000 pyeong of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, is largely designated as natural green area, but due to the adjacent large-scale residential complexes, development expectations are high, and the official land price alone exceeds 21.47 billion KRW. Also, there are suspicions of nominee ownership of about 1,400 pyeong of land in Gangseong-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, by Choi," emphasizing, "The land is in an area undergoing development, raising suspicions of typical speculative behavior aimed at huge capital gains." Yoon’s mother-in-law, Ms. Choi, is currently on trial for forging private documents and violating the Real Name Real Estate Act during the acquisition of about 160,000 pyeong of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si.

He added, "In the past, Ms. Choi received about 13.2 billion KRW in LH land compensation during the development of Asan New Town. Moreover, the total number of real estate properties owned under the names of Yoon’s family and their companies, ESIND and Pobana Contents, is 48, with a total area exceeding 20,000 pyeong and a value based on official land price and standard market value reaching 11.6 billion KRW." He particularly noted, "Among these, when acquiring about 1,000 pyeong in Baekan-ri and about 900 pyeong in Gongheung-ri, Yangpyeong-gun, Ms. Choi falsely stated farming experience and submitted a farming management plan, revealing signs of violating the Farmland Act."

Regarding the verification process of Yoon’s family real estate, he explained, "We cross-checked everything by reviewing the certified copies of the register. The fact that the land was owned by the candidate’s family was initially confirmed through materials submitted to the National Assembly, including the Ministry of Justice’s seizure list."

Kim Seung-won, who also attended the briefing, reiterated, "The scale of Yoon Seok-yeol’s family real estate confirmed by the current issues task force is over 190,000 pyeong," and emphasized, "It is equivalent to a mini new town scale comparable to Pangyo Techno Valley and Geoje Marine New Town." He raised his voice demanding verification of various violations such as the Farmland Act, Real Name Real Estate Act, and tax evasion.

Hwang Un-ha, another task force leader, stated, "The rampant real estate speculation in our society and the unearned income gained from it not only cause a sense of loss among the public but also undermine the motivation to work," and demanded that Yoon and the People Power Party clarify whether they consider it acceptable for the presidential candidate’s family to own mini new town-scale real estate nationwide through illegal and irregular means expecting development profits.

Additionally, Hwang added, "Regarding Yoon’s pledge to abolish the comprehensive real estate tax and ease real estate holding taxes, clarify whether this is to protect the interests of his family, and take responsibility as a candidate based on the verification results."

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