As President Lee Puts Bundang Apartment on Market, Jang Dong-hyeok Lists a Yeouido Officetel

Financial News — The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on the 28th urged People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok to sell his residential properties, pointing to President Lee Jae-myung’s decision to put his apartment in Bundang, Seongnam up for sale. In response, Jang on the same day listed an officetel in Yeouido in Seoul on the market.
Baek Seung-ah, a parliamentary spokesperson for the DPK, said at a briefing at the National Assembly’s press center that the background to President Lee’s decision to sell his Bundang home, as revealed through his Social Networking Service (SNS) account, was clear. Baek stated, “Although it is his home and the base of his life, he has decided to apply a stricter standard to himself as the person with ultimate responsibility for housing policy.” Baek went on, “Jang has repeatedly criticized the president for owning a home and has said, ‘If the president sells, I will sell too.’ Now it is Jang’s turn.”
President Lee had previously used SNS to send a policy message calling not only on multiple-home owners but also on single-home owners who do not live in their properties to put those homes on the market. In response, the People Power Party argued that the issue should start with President Lee’s high-priced apartment in Bundang, Seongnam and the properties held by senior figures in the government and ruling party. The DPK countered by highlighting that Jang is a multiple-home owner with six residential properties. President Lee also shared on SNS a news article headlined with the claim that Jang owns six homes.
Jang is reported to have listed his Yeouido officetel for sale. He purchased the unit after winning a by-election for the National Assembly in 2022, using it as a residence for his parliamentary activities. Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters at the National Assembly that Jang had already put one unused unit on the market a long time ago, although it has not yet been sold.
In addition to the officetel, Jang’s holdings include several other properties. These are: a farmhouse in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, inherited from his father, where his elderly mother lives alone; a one-fifth share in an apartment in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, inherited from his father-in-law and occupied by his mother-in-law; a one-tenth inherited share in an apartment in Gyeonggi Province that his late father-in-law purchased to help cover living expenses; an apartment in Guro District, Seoul, where Jang lived before becoming a lawmaker; and an apartment in Boryeong, used to support his work both in his constituency of Boryeong and Seocheon County in South Chungcheong Province and at the National Assembly. The combined value of these properties is reported to be in the 800 million won range.
uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yun-ho Reporter