The Democratic Party of Korea strongly criticized Choi Sang-mok, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, for investing about 200 million won in U.S. Treasury bonds. They urged him to resign immediately, claiming that his investment actions constituted a conflict of interest and criminal breach of trust.
Lee Un-joo, a member of the Democratic Party's Supreme Council, noted during a Supreme Council meeting held at the Democratic Party's tent in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the morning of the 31st, that "While the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs should be striving for economic stability, he was found to be merely proclaiming stability while betting on a surge in exchange rates and a foreign exchange crisis behind the scenes."
He continued, saying, "Investing in U.S. Treasury bonds as the head of the economy and betting on a surge in exchange rates is not only economic treason but also an act of betrayal against the people," adding that "(the investment in U.S. Treasury bonds is) a structure where policy failures translate into personal revenue, meaning the worse the national economy deteriorates, the more benefits one can gain, leading to public failures being converted into private profits."
He also raised his voice, stating that "This is a conflict of interest under the Public Officials Ethics Act and constitutes criminal breach of trust."
According to the 'Public Officials' Asset Disclosure' made public on the 26th, it was revealed that Choi held U.S. Treasury bonds worth 197.12 million won last year. During the National Assembly's confirmation hearing in December 2023, he was pointed out by opposition lawmakers for having purchased U.S. Treasury bonds worth about 170 million won during his time as the chief economic advisor at the presidential office. At that time, he sold the bonds, and it was revealed that just about a year later, he bought U.S. Treasury bonds again.
He criticized, stating, "As the exchange rate skyrockets, the people are suffering, and corporations and self-employed individuals are being pushed to the brink; what was the Deputy Prime Minister thinking?" He added, "The Deputy Prime Minister has access to undisclosed information such as the Bank of Korea's interest rate decision forecasts and the IMF's exchange rate trend reports, and if he invested in U.S. Treasury bonds based on this information, it would essentially be insider trading."
The same party's Jeon Hyun-hee also stated at the Supreme Council meeting that "According to the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, officials must abstain from their duties when private interests are involved," asking, "I hope the Deputy Prime Minister will immediately abstain from his economic management duties. If not, the National Assembly will have no choice but to enforce a law that forces him to abstain from office."
Lim Kwang-hyun, a member of the Democratic Party and part of the Strategy and Finance Committee, criticized the government for suddenly announcing a supplementary budget plan worth 10 trillion won, stating that it was an attempt to 'water down' the controversy surrounding the Deputy Prime Minister's purchase of U.S. Treasury bonds.
Lim added, "As the controversy over his purchase of U.S. Treasury bonds has escalated, the Deputy Prime Minister, who had ignored the public's continuous demands for a supplementary budget, suddenly called on the National Assembly to agree to a 10 trillion won supplementary budget," saying it was merely a 'U.S. Treasury bond purchase-related supplementary budget' due to forest fires, being insufficient in scale, lacking detailed content, and submitted without a proper timeline.