Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Union exposed MBC head's love affair
By Kim Rahn
Striking unionists at MBC claimed Tuesday that the broadcaster’s President Kim Jae-chul speculated on real estate together with a dancer who the union claimed he was having an affair with.
The labor union said Kim and the female dancer, surnamed Jeong, co-purchased and managed three apartments in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, in 2007 when prices of property in the city were rising due to various development projects.
Before this new revelation, the union had already claimed Kim made the traditional dancer perform in numerous events organized by the broadcaster and paid her 2 billion won.
According to the union, Kim bought the apartments at the end of the year when he was head of MBC’s Ulsan branch.
“Kim alone called real estate agencies in Osong for the purchases, but when making contracts afterward, Kim and Jeong went to the city together. When Jeong worried that she might have to pay huge tax if she had several apartments registered under her name, Kim had one registered under his name,” the union said in a press briefing, quoting realtors.
“They bought the residences under two names but Jeong took charge of leasing all three and managing the rent, taking care of contracts alone as a proxy for Kim. Considering all these aspects, the houses were Kim and Jeong’s joint property,” it claimed.
The current price of the houses is about 800 million won in total. They are about 1 kilometer away from Osong Station where the KTX bullet train stops.
“Osong saw speculation with the opening of the train station and its selection as a site for a medical complex. Kim’s purchase was typical real estate speculation,” the union said.
The time they purchased the apartments coincided with the time Jeong made 2 billion won by appearing in MBC-organized events, according to the union.
“Since long ago, the two have engaged together in financial deals. The favors and privileges Kim offered to Jeong were not simple favors but accumulation and misappropriation of company funds,” it claimed.
Neither Kim nor Jeong have actually lived in any of the apartments.
The union said real estate agents in the region testified Kim and Jeong had said they were brother and sister.
Regarding the claim, MBC officials said they would soon issue a press release to refute it.