30 Apartment Millionaire Lawmakers' 'Love for Seoul, Love for Gangnam'

by Im Onyu

Published 26 Jan.2021 10:35(KST)

According to the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice survey, 38 out of 55 properties are concentrated in Seoul
Especially, 28 are in the Gangnam area, showing severe concentration
Under the Moon administration, Gangnam housing prices rose sharply
Rank 1 is Assemblyman Park Deokheum, owning apartments worth 10.7 billion KRW

Hyundai Apartments in Apgujeong-dong as seen from near UN Village, Yongsan-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The preference for Gangnam among the top 30 apartment-rich members of the National Assembly has been confirmed. An analysis of about 50 apartments owned by them revealed that 75% are concentrated in Seoul, with 55% specifically in Gangnam.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) announced on the 26th at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul, an analysis of the top 30 National Assembly members in terms of apartment assets in the 21st National Assembly. Among them, 5 are from the Democratic Party including Lee Nak-yeon, 18 from the People Power Party including Joo Ho-young, and 7 independents including Park Deok-heum. The investigation was based on data reported to the National Assembly Public Officials Ethics Committee.

According to CCEJ, the total number of apartments owned by these members is 51, of which 38 are located in Seoul, accounting for about 75%. Notably, more than half, 28 apartments, are in the three Gangnam districts: Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa. This confirms the preference of National Assembly members for Seoul and Gangnam in numerical terms.

The prices of apartments owned by these 30 members have also risen significantly. The value of their apartments increased from 1.24 billion KRW in 2010 to 2.22 billion KRW as of last November, a rise of 980 million KRW (79.4%). Of this, 730 million KRW increase occurred during the four years of the Moon Jae-in administration. Particularly, those owning apartments in Seoul experienced an average increase of 910 million KRW, with Seocho-gu (1.09 billion KRW increase), Songpa-gu (1.03 billion KRW increase), and Gangnam-gu (980 million KRW increase) leading the rise.

A CCEJ official stated, "The apartment prices owned by National Assembly members surged during the Moon Jae-in government," adding, "The apartment price increase rate in Seoul is 49.9%, which is significantly different from the 14% claimed by former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi."

30 Apartment Millionaire Lawmakers' 'Love for Seoul, Love for Gangnam'

On the same day, CCEJ also analyzed that the declared apartment assets of the top 30 National Assembly members amount to only about 66% of the market price. According to CCEJ, the total declared apartment assets of the top 30 members were 75 billion KRW (2.5 billion KRW per person), but the market value was 113.1 billion KRW (3.77 billion KRW per person), showing a difference of 38.1 billion KRW (1.27 billion KRW per person).

A CCEJ official explained, "The reflection rate of the declared amount to market price is only 66.3%," adding, "They declared at a lower official price than the market price, and the house prices surged." Therefore, CCEJ demanded that this year, high-ranking public officials be required to declare their real estate assets at market prices.

Meanwhile, according to CCEJ, as of last November, the top National Assembly member in apartment assets was Park Deok-heum, who owns three apartments in Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, and Okcheon, Chungbuk, with a market value of 10.7 billion KRW. Other members with significant holdings include independent Yang Jeong-suk with 6.2 billion KRW, independent Park Byeong-seok with 6 billion KRW, independent Kim Hong-geol with 5.9 billion KRW, Democratic Party's Kim Hoe-jae with 5.3 billion KRW, Joo Ho-young with 5.2 billion KRW, People Power Party's Jeong Jin-seok with 4.5 billion KRW, Song Eon-seok with 4.3 billion KRW, independent Lee Sang-jik with 4.2 billion KRW, and People Power Party's Lee Heon-seung with 4.1 billion KRW.