Average Assets of High-Ranking Officials: 2.1 Billion Won... President Lee Reports 4.9 Billion, Major Increase from Royalties

76% of Public Officials Saw Asset Increases
President Lee's Royalty Income Rose by 1,560,000,000 Won
10 Out of 47 Presidential Office Aides Own Multiple Homes
Average Lawmaker Assets: 2,880,000,000 Won

Since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, the assets of 1,903 high-ranking government officials, including the president, have been publicly disclosed, with the average assets per person totaling 2,095,630,000 won. President Lee Jaemyung reported assets of 4,977,210,000 won, an increase of 1,888,070,000 won compared to a year ago. The average assets held by members of the National Assembly (excluding Assemblymen Ahn Cheolsoo and Park Deokheum) stood at 2,887,300,000 won, up by about 220,000,000 won from the previous year.

On March 26, the Government Public Officials Ethics Committee released this information in the official gazette under the title "Regular Asset Change Report for Public Officials." The disclosure covered 1,903 individuals, including political appointees in the executive branch, Grade A senior civil servants, presidents of national universities, heads of affiliated organizations, metropolitan and local government heads, metropolitan councilors, and superintendents of provincial education offices. Of those required to disclose their assets, 1,449 people (76.1%) saw an increase, while 454 (23.9%) reported a decrease. The most common reason for the increase in assets was savings and rising stock prices, accounting for 73.6%. Changes in the published prices of housing and land accounted for 26.4% of the asset value changes.

President Lee reported assets of 4,977,210,000 won, benefiting significantly from valuation gains in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) due to the rise in domestic stock markets and from income generated through publication royalties. The president's reported bank deposits soared from 1,583,980,000 won to 3,064,130,000 won. Most of this increase in deposits came from publication royalties—President Lee earned 1,560,600,000 won, while his wife Kim received 6,070,000 won. An official from the Office of the President explained, "President Lee's book, 'Ultimately, the People Do It,' which reflects his political philosophy, is known to have sold very well." In addition, income from family events such as his child's wedding was reported as 250,000,000 won in cash assets.

President Lee's real estate assets, including his apartment, increased by about 350,000,000 won compared to a year earlier. His 82.13㎡ apartment in Sunae-dong, Bundang, was reported at 842,500,000 won, while Mrs. Kim Hyekyung's 82.12㎡ share was also reported at 842,500,000 won. The value of the couple's properties rose by 114,500,000 won each over the past year due to higher published prices. After the asset disclosure reference date, President Lee put the jointly owned apartment in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province up for sale, aiming to enhance public trust in his actively pursued real estate policies.

The Average Assets of Presidential Office Aides: 2,789,200,000 Won... 10 Out of 47 Own Multiple Houses

The average assets held by 47 aides at the Office of the President totaled 2,789,200,000 won. The aide with the highest reported assets was Legal Secretary Lee Janghyeong, who reported 13,416,040,000 won. His assets increased by more than 4,400,000,000 won compared to the 8,990,000,000 won reported when he joined the administration last year. This was mainly due to the appreciation in value of roughly 21,203 shares of Tesla stock held by himself and his two children. He reported that the value of stocks held by himself and his children jumped from 9,460,000,000 won to 13,680,000,000 won, an increase of more than 4,200,000,000 won.

The aide with the second highest assets was Lee Minju, Secretary for National Public Relations, who reported 7,984,370,000 won—an increase of 1,480,000,000 won. Next were Wi Seongrak, Chief of National Security, with 6,143,700,000 won; Kim Sangho, Director of the Chunchugwan Press Center, with 5,996,560,000 won; Lee Taehyung, Civil Affairs Secretary, with 5,903,170,000 won; Moon Jinyoung, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs, with 5,714,480,000 won; and Ha Jungwoo, Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning, with 4,250,000,000 won.

Among the aides who publicly disclosed their assets, 10 were found to own two or more residential properties. None of the aides at the chief level were multi-home owners, but among the 11 senior secretaries, 2 owned multiple homes. Cho Seongju, Senior Secretary for Personnel Affairs, reported two properties: a jointly owned Lotte Castle Liberty apartment in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, and a mixed-use building in Sejong City. Moon Jinyoung, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs, owned a Hangaram apartment in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, and a mixed-use building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu. Kim Sangho, Director of the Chunchugwan Press Center, jointly owned with his spouse an apartment in Gwangjin-gu, Guui-dong, and six villas in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu. It was reported that Kim recently put his multi-home properties up for sale. In addition, Choi Seonga, Secretary for Overseas Media; Jeong Jeongok, Secretary for Gender Equality and Family; Kim Hyeonji, Chief of the First Aide's Office; Lee Taehyung, Civil Affairs Secretary; Lee Juhan, Secretary for Science and Technology Research; and Kim Sojeong, Cybersecurity Secretary at the National Security Office, were also multi-home owners. The spokesperson, Kang Yujeong, at the secretary level, was listed as owning two apartments in the official gazette, but recently sold her apartment in Yongin, thereby no longer being a multi-home owner.

Even Excluding Ahn Cheolsoo and Park Deokheum, Average National Assembly Member Assets Reach 2,890,000,000 Won... 52 Own Multiple Properties

As of the end of last year, the average assets of South Korean lawmakers stood at 2,887,300,000 won per person, an 8% year-on-year increase. This figure was calculated by excluding Assemblymen Ahn Cheolsoo (125,700,000,000 won) and Park Deokheum (54,800,000,000 won), who each own more than 50,000,000,000 won in assets, from the total of 287 incumbent lawmakers. There were nine lawmakers with assets exceeding 10,000,000,000 won: Ahn Cheolsoo, Park Deokheum, Park Jeong, Ko Dongjin, Paek Jonghun, Kim Eunhye, Seo Myeongok, Yoon Sanghyun, and Choi Eunseok.

The lawmaker with the largest increase in assets was Ko Dongjin of the People Power Party, whose assets grew by 5,680,000,000 won in one year. This was attributed to the appreciation of his apartment in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and Samsung Electronics shares. Assemblyman Ahn Cheolsoo, who reported the highest total assets among all lawmakers, also saw the largest decrease, losing 11,070,000,000 won, mainly due to a decline in the value of AhnLab shares he holds.

The number of lawmakers owning two or more residential properties stood at 52, accounting for 18% of the total 287 lawmakers. This calculation only includes those who own all shares of multiple homes under their own or their spouse's name, excluding officetels. The People Power Party had the most multi-home owners at 31, followed by the Democratic Party of Korea with 20, and the Reform Party with 1.

Forty-seven lawmakers, making up 16.4% of the total, owned at least one property in the so-called "Gangnam 3 districts"—Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa in Seoul. Among People Power Party lawmakers, Kim Jongyang, a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, reported owning three homes. Kim's holdings include an apartment in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul; a detached house in Changwon, Gyeongnam; and an apartment in Dongnae-gu, Busan. If officetels are included, Park Mingyu of the Democratic Party of Korea owns 11 officetels in his constituency of Gwanak-gu, Seoul.

Song Seokjun, a member of the People Power Party, is engaged in unlimited debate on the Prosecution Service Act (alternative bill) at the second plenary session of the March extraordinary National Assembly held on the 20th. 2026.3.20 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

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