Won Hee-ryong refutes controversy over self-use change profit of Jeju house, citing "request from nearby residents"

"The house was purchased at personal expense during the process of returning the Jeju official residence to the residents"

Won Hee-ryong, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Presidential Transition Committee), is arriving at the Presidential Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 14th.

On the 15th, Won Hee-ryong, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, strongly denied allegations that he benefited from an increase in official property value by 'self-initiated zoning changes' to his own residence during his tenure as Governor of Jeju Province. While acknowledging that the zoning change did occur, Won's side argued that it was the result of local residents' requests and part of a periodic village district reorganization conducted by the local government.

Earlier that day, a media outlet reported that during Won's time as Jeju Governor, the Jeju Provincial Office designated Won's detached house and the nearby 'Natural Green Area' as a 'Natural Village District,' which expanded the building coverage ratio and floor area ratio. Designating a Natural Green Area as a Natural Village District relaxes development restrictions, thereby increasing land value. Due to the zoning change at that time, the building coverage ratio of the site increased from 20% to 50%, and the floor area ratio rose from 80% to 100%. Consequently, the official property value of the detached house more than doubled compared to the purchase price.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained in a statement distributed to the media that "the change and designation of the area including Won's residence from 'Natural Green Area' to 'Natural Village District' was decided after review by relevant committees, considering the requests of nearby residents and investigations by professional institutions, which found that a significant number of townhouses and individual houses had already been constructed."

The Ministry added, "'Natural Village Districts' are designated to alleviate residents' inconveniences by enabling the installation of welfare facilities," and claimed, "At that time, demands for district designation were rapidly increasing as Jeju developed."

It further emphasized, "In 2016, Jeju Province pursued a five-year periodic reorganization of village districts under the National Land Planning Act, and this was not a push for designation of village districts in specific areas."

The Ministry explained, "After Jeju announced its designation plan, 169 resident opinions were submitted, and through lawful procedures including urban planning committee reviews, a total of 224 village districts were newly established or expanded, resulting in an increase of 3.7 million square meters in village district area."

Meanwhile, regarding the reason for purchasing the residence in 2014, the Ministry added, "It was bought at personal expense after returning the existing Jeju Governor's official residence to the residents."

The Ministry stated, "The Jeju Governor's official residence, once called the 'local Blue House,' was a large-scale property of about 15,025 square meters, requiring annual management costs of several hundred million won and numerous staff for maintenance. The nominee judged that it was inappropriate for the Governor alone to enjoy benefits generated by annual tax expenditures of several hundred million won and promised before taking office to return the Governor's official residence to the residents."

The Ministry emphasized, "After taking office and going through a public discussion process, the former Governor's official residence was transformed into the 'Jeju Kkumbadang Children's Library,' along with a book caf? and a self-directed learning center," and added, "This was also evaluated as a model case where a symbol of authority was transformed into a space for citizens."

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