A Total of 61 Lawmakers Own Homes in the Four Gangnam Districts... Many Sought a "Single High-Value Property"

One out of every five houses owned by members of the 22nd National Assembly is located in the Gangnam area of Seoul. Approximately one in five lawmakers is a multi-home owner, and a significant number of legislators are found to own a single "smart investment property" in Seoul, which they rent out under the jeonse system.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice released these findings on November 4. The analysis is based on the reported assets of 299 lawmakers from the 22nd National Assembly, including former members who resigned to take positions in the presidential office or elsewhere.

On October 20th, a real estate listing was posted at a property in Mapo District. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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According to the results, out of the 299 lawmakers surveyed, 234 owned homes, with a total of 299 properties registered under their own or their spouses' names. The analysis was based on the asset disclosures of lawmakers released in March of this year.

Nearly half of these properties, 134 units (44.8%), were located in Seoul. Within Seoul, 61 homes were concentrated in the four Gangnam districts (Songpa, Seocho, Gangnam, and Gangdong). Among lawmakers owning homes in these districts, 36 were from the People Power Party, 20 from the Democratic Party, one each from the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Reform Party, and three were former lawmakers.

The average real estate assets per lawmaker among the 299 members of the 22nd National Assembly amounted to 1.95289 billion won. Compared to the national average household real estate assets of 417.52 million won as of last year, this figure is approximately 4.7 times higher.

By political party, the average real estate assets per Democratic Party lawmaker stood at 1.41626 billion won, while for the People Power Party, it was 2.98184 billion won. These amounts are 3.4 times and 7.1 times higher, respectively, than the national average.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice is announcing the analysis results of real estate assets of the 22nd National Assembly members at their office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice

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The data also revealed that a significant number of lawmakers are multi-home owners.

According to the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, of the 299 lawmakers, only 65 were without homes, while 234 owned at least one property. Among these, 61 lawmakers were confirmed to own two or more homes. By party, 129 out of 165 Democratic Party members (78.2%) reported owning homes, with 25 being multi-home owners, representing a multi-home ownership rate of 15.2%. Among the People Power Party, 90 out of 107 members (84.1%) reported owning homes, with 35 being multi-home owners, resulting in a multi-home ownership rate of 32.7%.

The value of apartments owned by lawmakers in Gangnam has surged by several billion won over the past decade. According to the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice's market analysis, the Hyundai Apgujeong apartment (163.67㎡) owned by People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Sanghoon (proportional representative) saw the highest increase, rising by 6.125 billion won. The Hanyang Apgujeong apartment (147.41㎡) owned by Seo Myungok (Gangnam A district, People Power Party) increased by 5.34 billion won, while the Samsung I'Park apartment (203.12㎡) owned by Park Deokheum (Boeun, Okcheon, Yeongdong, and Gwesan in North Chungcheong Province, People Power Party) rose by 5 billion won.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice stated, "When public officials own expensive or multiple homes but claim to support 'housing price stability' and 'curbing speculation,' their sincerity and effectiveness are inevitably called into question." The group insisted, "For senior public officials at grade 1 or above, ownership and transactions of land and buildings, except for a single home for actual use, should be fundamentally prohibited, and the government must develop proper housing policies for ordinary citizens."

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