Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Presidential anti-corruption secretary resigns over land speculation allegations
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Kim Gi-pyo, presidential secretary for anti-corruption / Korea Times file
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Kim Gi-pyo, the presidential secretary for anti-corruption, resigned on Sunday following mounting criticism over allegations of his real estate speculation. Kim purchased billions of won worth of real estate mainly through loans ― a practice that the Moon Jae-in government has criticized for contributing to property speculation and pledged to root out.
Park Soo-hyun, the senior presidential secretary for public communication, said that Kim offered his resignation because he did not want to burden the administration. The President accepted the resignation immediately.
Kim, who was named as the anti-corruption secretary in March, reported that he owns 9 billion won ($8 million) worth of real estate: an apartment in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province valued at 1.45 billion won, two commercial stores in Seoul worth 6.55 billion won and forest land in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, valued at 840 million won. He has 5.62 billion won worth of debt, suggesting that he purchased a large portion of this real estate through loans.
The forest land, in particular, which Kim purchased for 49 million won in 2017 when he was a lawyer, was not connected to a road and was available at a cheap price at that time. However, it was only about 1 kilometer away from a new development area that was approved in 2018. This connection has led to suspicions of land speculation.
Initially, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee offered an explanation on behalf of Kim, Saturday, that he had purchased the land in Gwangju upon the request of his acquaintance, who had been cash-strapped, and that he knew the lot was not included in the development scheme.
"Kim is sorry for causing any misunderstanding, regardless of the reason. He is trying to sell some of his properties, including the Gwangju land," Park said.
Kim Gi-pyo, left, presidential secretary for anti-corruption, speaks with Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo at Cheong Wa Dae, June 1. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok
Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the conservative main opposition People Power Party criticized the Moon administration for selecting a “speculator” as its anti-corruption secretary, saying that this choice suggests double standards.
"The Moon administration has been blaming previous administrations and speculators for being the culprits of skyrocketing real estate prices. They prohibited ordinary people from buying real estate through loans, defining the buying of property as speculation, but then they explain that a presidential secretary's purchase of land using borrowed money was for investment purposes. This is deceiving the public,” Rep. Hwangbo said in a statement.
“This shows that Cheong Wa Dae's staff vetting system is not just insufficient, but it is virtually non-existent. The government has come under fire for land speculation scandals involving employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH). Yet, it still named a person facing land speculation allegations to a high-ranking government position. This act shows that the government has no shame.”