An analysis found that former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Kim Kyung, for whom an arrest warrant was requested on suspicion of handing 100 million won to lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, pressured the Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation (SH) to increase its purchase volume of dwellings and sold his family company's dwellings to SH, reaping about 8.5 billion won in profit.
The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) said on the 12th that a full review of two officetel buildings sold by the former council member's family company to SH and the minutes of the 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council (from Jul. 2022 to Dec. 2025) showed these results.
According to CCEJ, the former council member served as a Commissioner on the Urban Planning and Balance Committee from Jul. 2020 to Jun. 2022 in the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council. He pressed for the supply of purchased rental dwellings, asking, "LH provided about 1,300 households for (purchased rental dwellings), so why has SH only been able to supply 200 households?" He also said, "I think the purchase price for rentals should be raised," calling for higher purchase prices.
The former council member's family company sold two officetel buildings in Cheonho-dong, Gangdong District, Seoul, to SH. Based on real estate registry copies and the basic construction cost for apartments, CCEJ estimated the construction cost of the officetels and found that one building cost 10.1 billion won for land and construction but was sold to SH for 14.7 billion won. The other building cost 9.4 billion won for land and construction, and SH purchased it for 13.3 billion won.
CCEJ said, "The estimated development profits amount to 4.6 billion won and 3.9 billion won, totaling about 8.5 billion won," adding, "If SH had purchased the land directly and built the structures, taxpayers' money would not have been wasted."
CCEJ said that not only the former council member but also many Seoul Metropolitan Council members called on SH to expand purchased rental dwellings.
During the 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council, Council Member Ko Gwang-min raised the issue of appraisal prices, saying, "One reason sellers are withdrawing may be that the market feels the appraised values are not appropriate." Council Member Park Seok urged the supply of newly built purchased rentals and even floated the "abolition of the per-household purchase price ceiling."
Council Member Park Seung-jin said that as the SH president was reluctant to purchase dwellings, "there was even a motion to dismiss the SH president," and Council Member Kang Dong-gil said, "Please, truly understand the importance of purchased rental dwellings." Council Member Min Byung-joo also referred to performance versus targets for purchased rental dwellings, saying, "We'll check. Are you going to purchase 14% again like in 2022?"
Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Council also issued a "resolution urging stronger government support and budget securing to expand the supply of purchased rental dwellings by the Seoul Metropolitan Government." The gist was that while Seoul had additional capacity to purchase, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) had not granted additional approval, and the council strongly resolved to approve additional volumes of purchased rental dwellings.
CCEJ said, "We wonder why Seoul council members are particularly attentive only to purchased rentals," adding, "We cannot help but suspect whether, like the former council member Kim, they sought personal gain."
CCEJ called on the city council and each party to conduct a full investigation into whether there are conflicts of interest related to the purchased rental business. It argued that if conflicts are found, those involved should be excluded from nominations in the June local elections.
CCEJ also called on President Lee Jae-myung and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to fully reexamine the purchased rental dwellings program and to directly build and supply public dwellings.