Prime Minister and 19 Cabinet Ministers in the Lee Jae-myung administration held an average of 5 billion won in assets as of last year. In addition, eight officials, or 40%, reported to the government that they own two or more dwellings.
On the 26th, the Government Public Official Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Personnel Management disclosed senior officials' asset details in the official gazette and on the Public Service Ethics System website. Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, this is the first time that the assets of all senior officials required under the Public Service Ethics Act to report changes in their assets to the committee have been made public.
According to the committee, the average assets of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and 18 Cabinet Ministers totaled 4.99 billion won. Seventeen of the 19 saw their assets increase from a year earlier. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young said theirs decreased. Eight officials were found to own two or more dwellings. Among the 11 single-dwelling owners, five reported owning homes in either the three Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa) or in Mayongseong (Mapo, Yongsan, Seongdong).
◇ Ministers from corporate backgrounds report hundreds of billions in assets... Han Seong-sook tops list with 23.3 billion won
No. 1 is Han Seong-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups and former Naver CEO, who reported 22.3 billion won. That is up 185 million won from a year earlier. About half of Han's assets are real estate. Han said she owns one officetel in Seoul's Gangnam District, one apartment in Seoul's Songpa District, and three dwellings in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Among these, the officetel and one dwelling in Gyeonggi Province have been put up for sale. Han also reported deposits of 6.5 billion won and stocks worth 5.1 billion won. Han said she invested in U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETF) and shares of Nike, American Express, Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Palantir Technologies.
No. 2 is also from a corporate background, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young. Chae reported 17.7 billion won in assets. After becoming a minister, selling or placing held shares in a blind trust reduced assets by 6.1 billion won. Chae said the deposits total 11.3 billion won. Chae also reported personally owning an apartment in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and a dwelling in Gangwon Province, as well as a commercial building under the mother's name and a detached house under the eldest son's name.
No. 3 is Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources, who reported 7.8 billion won. Kim said the amount increased by 1.2 billion won from a year earlier. Most of the increase was in deposits, and Kim reported "retirement pay from the previous workplace (Doosan Enerbility), salary savings, and asset reallocation." No. 4, Ahn Gyu-baek, Minister of National Defense, reported 7.4 billion won, up 535.05 million won. Next were Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyeong (5.8 billion won), Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol (5.2 billion won), Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho (4.8 billion won), and Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon (4.4 billion won).
◇ Many politician ministers own multiple homes... single-home owners hold "one smart unit"
Many politician ministers were multiple-home owners. They tend to hold one unit in their constituency or nearby and another in a different area. Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young reported owning an apartment in Seoul's Gangnam District and dwellings in Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province. Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek reported an apartment in Seoul's Dongdaemun District and an apartment in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, while Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan reported apartments in Seoul's Nowon District and in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
Among Cabinet Ministers who are single-dwelling owners, Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said he owns an apartment in Seoul's Seocho District (4.15 billion won). Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI) Kim Jung-kwan holds an apartment in Seoul's Songpa District (2.9 billion won), Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol owns an apartment in Gaepo-dong, Seoul's Gangnam District (1.5 billion won), and Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyeong holds an apartment in Seoul's Yongsan District (1.26 billion won).