Candidate for Police Chief Jo Ji-ho, on Allegations of Illicit Gift to Second Son: "Unavoidable Circumstances"

Claim of Losing Original IOU
Couldn’t Return Due to COVID-19 Infection, Lent Money

On the 29th, nominee for Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, Jo Ji-ho, explained the suspicion of illicit inheritance to his second son by saying, "There were unavoidable circumstances."

George Ho, the nominee for Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is taking an oath at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 29th.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min]

At the National Assembly confirmation hearing that day, Jo responded to a question from Mo Kyung-jong, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "If I were to make a gift, I should give similarly to both my eldest and youngest sons."

Jo explained, "My son got a job in the United States and saved about 100 million won to buy a luxury car, so my wife told him to buy an officetel instead. He contracted COVID-19 and was unable to return home, risking losing the deposit, so I lent him money and received 250,000 won in interest every month."

When Mo asked if the document submitted to the National Assembly was an actual IOU, Jo revealed, "I lost the first IOU I wrote."

Mo said, "An interest rate of 2% seems like a parental advantage. The tax authorities' position is that financial transactions within the family can be considered gifts. We cannot avoid talking about illicit inheritance," and demanded, "Submit materials equivalent to a tax investigation."

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