Choi Hwi-young, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism nominee, stated on the 27th that he plans to sell all of his shares in Naver (NAVER).
On this day, Choi said in a written response submitted to Lim Oh-kyung, the ruling party's secretary of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly, that "he plans to rapidly sell all shares held by himself, his spouse, and his eldest daughter, as he believes the Naver stock is highly relevant to his duties."
Choi also stated that he would sell all shares in Nolyuniverse. He noted, "Since the non-listed shares of Nolyuniverse are also deemed highly relevant to my duties, I plan to sell all shares, and if selling them is difficult, I will arrange for them to be managed through a blind trust."
However, Choi indicated a reserved stance regarding shares in Deulgukhwa Company, saying he would take action depending on the results of the job relevance assessment.
Choi served as the CEO of NHN (Naver) and Interpark Triple before being appointed as the CEO of Nolyuniverse at the time of his ministerial nomination. According to the personnel confirmation request submitted to the National Assembly, Choi holds shares valued at approximately 7.8 billion won in Naver, 6.02 billion won in non-listed Nolyuniverse shares, and 214 million won in Deulgukhwa Company shares, totaling around 14.26 billion won.
Regarding allegations of covering gift tax for his children, Choi stated, "I have paid the gift tax according to legal procedures." Allegations arose because Choi's children have had no income over the past five years.
Choi explained that he gifted 800 million won in cash to his eldest son and daughter in 2010, and his children used this to pay additional gift taxes directly.
According to the personnel confirmation request, Choi's eldest son received real estate worth 1.02 billion won in 2021 and paid over 220 million won in gift tax. Choi's eldest daughter received securities worth 530 million won and paid over 83 million won in gift tax.