Suspicions Spreading from Clothing Expenses to 'Sajeo'... Unsecured 1.1 Billion Won Loan?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Suspicions surrounding First Lady Kim Jung-sook's 'clothing expenses' are spreading to loans for the construction of the presidential residence. There is controversy over whether it is possible to borrow a large sum of 1.1 billion KRW 'unsecured' without setting a mortgage lien while securing the amount through a private transaction.

A Blue House official said on the 1st, regarding the criticism that no mortgage lien was set on the presidential residence in Maegok-dong, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, during the process of Kim borrowing 1.1 billion KRW, "It is not a regulation that a mortgage lien must be set," adding, "Where else is there someone with a status as certain as the president?" Even if it was an unsecured transaction, there is no big problem.

President Moon and his wife borrowed 388.73 million KRW from NongHyup for the construction costs of the new residence to be built in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, and First Lady Kim borrowed 1.1 billion KRW through a private debt agreement. However, it is not easy for an ordinary person to borrow such a large amount of 1.1 billion KRW either through financial institution loans or unsecured private borrowing.

The Blue House's position is that it "cannot confirm" the reason for not setting a mortgage lien or whether there was other collateral. Nevertheless, they emphasized that there is no problem with the transaction. A Blue House official said, "All related supporting documents must be submitted for entry into the public official ethics system," and questioned, "The Government Official Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation has approved everything, so what is the problem?" However, the Ministry of Personnel Innovation explained, "The asset registration subject only reported as of December 31 last year, and the review has not yet been conducted," adding, "The review must be completed within three months after the asset disclosure."

Suspicions surrounding the Maegok-dong residence are also intensifying. It was revealed that the Maegok-dong residence, which President Moon bought for 900 million KRW in 2009, was sold for 2.6 billion KRW, and considering the actual transaction prices of surrounding houses, it was traded at an excessively high price. In particular, even though a month and a half has passed since the sale, the registration transfer has not yet been completed, so the identity of the buyer is unknown.

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