Lee So-young "No Land Price Increase for Kim Gun-hee Family Despite Terminal Change? A Comical Explanation"

Democratic Party Rep. Lee So-young SBS Radio Interview
"Easy access to JCT from Byeongsan-ri... 30 minutes to Seoul"

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that there would be no increase in land prices for the family of First Lady Kim Keon-hee, spouse of President Yoon Suk-yeol, regarding the controversy over the change of the terminus of the Seoul?Yangpyeong Expressway, because it connects via a JCT (junction) rather than an IC (interchange). In response, Lee So-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized this as a "very comical explanation."

On the 27th, Lee appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said, "There is Namyangpyeong IC less than a 3-minute drive from Byeongsan-ri, where the First Lady's family owns land, and the JCT is less than a 1-minute drive from Namyangpyeong IC. As a result, you can access the Seoul?Yangpyeong Expressway within 5 minutes from this land."

On the 26th, at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held in the National Assembly, Chairman Kim Min-gi is striking the gavel. Photo by Yonhap News

She continued, "Once you get on the Seoul?Yangpyeong Expressway, you can reach Songpa-gu within about twenty-some minutes. It is a very good expressway with excellent accessibility to Seoul. Therefore, since there is an IC right next to this JCT, accessing the JCT from the Byeongsan-ri land is very easy, making it a good piece of land from which you can reach Seoul in about 20 to 30 minutes," she pointed out.

Lee said, "The claim that (the First Lady's family land) cannot be developed is wrong in two respects," adding, "Kim Keon-hee's family, including her mother-in-law Choi Eun-soon, have not only inherited this land but have also continuously purchased more land here. Why would they pay money to buy land that can never be developed?"

She also noted, "Although this nearby area is a waterfront zone with various good natural environments, apartments are continuously being built, and development is taking place. I even presented cases yesterday where waterfront zones were lifted and development proceeded. Considering these, the claim is somewhat unreasonable," she said.

Regarding the failure to summon the contractor who conducted the feasibility study for the Seoul?Yangpyeong Expressway as a witness, she explained, "The contractors are people who received the commission from the government. It is very difficult for them to say anything contrary to the government's position."

She added, "Even if they give detailed testimony, it is hard for us to believe that their statements are truthful. Given that the government and the minister are demanding an apology from the opposition party while canceling the project, if these contractors make statements opposing the minister's remarks or the government's position, their livelihoods could be cut off until the end of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," she said.

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