As President Lee Becomes a Non-Homeowner, 15 Blue House Aides Still Own Multiple Homes

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[The Financial News] Fifteen senior presidential aides at the secretary level or above at Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) have been found to own multiple homes.
This comes from an analysis of the "2026 regular asset disclosure status of public officials" as of December 31 last year, released on the 26th by the Public Service Ethics Committee in the Government. President Lee Jae Myung reported assets of around 4.97 billion won, an increase of about 1.88 billion won.
Attention is focusing on the multiple-home ownership status of Cheong Wa Dae aides, as President Lee recently put his own apartment in Bundang up for sale and ordered that multiple-home owners and non-resident owners of high-priced homes be excluded from the process of making real estate policy decisions.
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Among senior presidential aides at the secretary level or above at Cheong Wa Dae, 15, including First Personal Secretary Kim Hyun-ji, were found to be multiple-home owners.
According to the asset disclosure data for senior public officials and members of the National Assembly, Kim, the first personal secretary, registered an apartment in The Sharp Pangyo Forest Complex 11 in Daejang-dong, Seongnam, jointly owned with her spouse and valued at 750 million won, as well as her spouse’s apartment in Cheongju worth 140 million won.
Among officials with ministerial rank, National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac owns a Raemian Hillstate apartment in Godeok-dong, Gangdong District, valued at 1.23 billion won, while his spouse owns an officetel in Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun District, worth 520 million won. He also holds three commercial properties: a shop in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province (610 million won), a shop in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, under his spouse’s name (1.09 billion won), and another shop in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province (1.09 billion won).
Among officials with vice-ministerial rank, Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Bong Wook (apartments in Banpo-gu and Seongdong District), Senior Presidential Secretary for Personnel Affairs Cho Sung-joo (an apartment in Seocho District and a mixed-use building in Sejong Special Self-Governing City), Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Affairs Jinyoung Moon (a mixed-use building in Gangnam District, an apartment in Yongsan District, and a single-family home in Busan Metropolitan City), and Third Deputy Director of the National Security Office Oh Hyun-joo (a single-family home in Jongno District and a share in an apartment in Yongsan District) were all multiple-home owners.
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The assets that President Lee Jae Myung reported as owned by himself and his family total around 4.9 billion won. This is an increase of roughly 1.888 billion won compared with the 3.08914 billion won he reported a year earlier.
By category, the assessed value of buildings, including apartments, came to about 2.3 billion won, up roughly 350 million won from a year earlier.
Within that, the officially assessed value of the Bundang apartment that President Lee put on the market last month was about 1.68 billion won, up around 220 million won from a year earlier.
In particular, President Lee’s bank deposits jumped from about 1.58 billion won to around 3.06 billion won, with a large portion attributed to income from book royalties. Lee reported earning roughly 1.56 billion won, while his wife Kim Hye-kyung reported about 6 million won in such income.
A Cheong Wa Dae official explained, "We understand that President Lee’s book published last year, 'In the End, the People Do It,' which sets out his political philosophy, sold quite well."
Investment gains from President Lee’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings, amid a strong stock market, and the salary he receives for serving as president also contributed to the increase in his deposits.
During his presidential campaign, Lee had pledged a "KOSPI 5,000" era and bought 40 million won worth of ETF products. He also promised to invest an additional 60 million won over the next five years by putting in 1 million won each month, bringing his total ETF purchases to 100 million won.
His cash assets increased by 250 million won. As he listed the reason for the increase as "family events and related occasions," it appears to reflect, among other things, the wedding of his eldest son, Lee Dong-ho.
In addition, the assessed value of the Oak Valley Resort condominium membership that President Lee personally reported rose slightly from 24.3 million won to 26.5 million won over the past year. His eldest son, Lee Dong-ho, was also found to have purchased around 40 million won worth of virtual assets.
newssu@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Su-yeon Reporter