Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party criticized Chong Won-o, the Seongdong District Administrator, over the rice paddy and dry field he owns, saying, "Judging by official records alone, Administrator Chong is either a farmer with 57 years of experience or a speculator, as President Lee calls them."
On the 25th, Kim wrote on Facebook, "According to the official gazette and the certified copy of the register, Administrator Chong bought 600 pyeong each of paddy and field when he was 0 and 2 years old, before he could even toddle," adding, "It is out of the question that Chong, who was an infant, held a hand hoe. Judging by his career as an aide and a district administrator, the likelihood that Chong himself tilled the soil over the past several decades is also slim."
He went on, "There is an exception if the Korea Rural Community Corporation was entrusted with operation or if a direct descendant is farming, but neither seems to apply to Administrator Chong."
Kim referred to President Lee Jae-myung's remark the previous day that "farmland not being cultivated is an object of speculation," and said, "President Lee tends to say just anything when it comes to real estate, but this time he did well. Designate Administrator Chong as the first subject of a full investigation."
Kim added, "If the suspicion that Administrator Chong violated the Farmland Act turns out to be true, it should not end with selling the farmland, and he should be investigated."
Administrator Chong's side pushed back against Kim's criticism as "clearly fake news and a malicious political attack." Chae Hyun-il of the Democratic Party of Korea wrote on Facebook, "Under the addenda to the Farmland Act, farmland acquired before 1996 is not subject to retroactive application of the self-cultivation duty or ownership limits," adding, "Administrator Chong's farmland is small-scale land that grandparents and parents purchased to farm themselves and, by family custom, registered under District Administrator Chong's name." Chae is helping District Administrator Chong's Seoul mayoral campaign.
Chae said, "It is plainly far-fetched to place small farmland in the hometown that has been held long term for more than 50 years on the same footing as large-scale speculative capital," adding, "I express strong regret over the conduct of lawmaker Kim Jae-seop, who seriously damaged an individual's reputation by invoking alleged violations of the Farmland Act solely because the district administrator did not personally till the soil."