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Korean elite’s double standard in home ownership persists: surveys

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By Yi Whan-woo
  • Published KST
  • Updated KST
Hikers take photos of apartment complexes and other high-rise residential buildings at Mount Nam in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Hikers take photos of apartment complexes and other high-rise residential buildings at Mount Nam in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Lawmakers and high-ranking bureaucrats in both central and municipal governments own multiple homes despite the deepening housing crisis, according to recent surveys.

The findings reflect the persistent double standard of Korea’s elite, as tighter regulations make it hard for ordinary citizens to buy homes, while those in power remain largely unaffected.

According to data from corporate tracker Leaders Index, Tuesday, 48.8 percent of 2,581 central and local government officials of Grade 4 or higher, along with their family members, own two or more homes, and 17.8 percent hold three or more.

Central government officials held the highest average number of homes per person at 1.89, followed closely by municipal governors at 1.87.

Local council members and officials at public institutions or government-funded think tanks held around 1.71 homes each, while members of the National Assembly owned an average of 1.41 homes.

Among municipal governors, Cho Seong-myung, head of Seoul’s upscale Gangnam District, had the highest number of homes at 42.

Rep. Park Min-kyu of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) led lawmakers, owning 13 homes.

For the 2,581 surveyed officials, property ownership was concentrated in Seoul, accounting for 29.7 percent of all holdings.

In particular, homes in Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa districts — areas associated with high real estate prices — made up 41.5 percent of the total holdings in Seoul.

A separate survey released by the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) on Nov. 4 found that 20.4 percent of the 299 current and former lawmakers of the 22nd National Assembly owned multiple properties.

“That makes one out of every five lawmakers a multiple home owner,” CCEJ said.

Of the homes owned by lawmakers, 44.8 percent were in Seoul, with Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong districts accounting for 20.4 percent of the city total.

The coalition said, “It would be contradictory for high-ranking public officials and lawmakers to design and oversee policies that affect the value of real estate they themselves own."

“We therefore urge that they be prohibited from owning or trading any land or housing beyond a single residence” it added.