President Lee Jae Myung’s drive to eradicate speculation prompts wave of home sales among Blue House aides... No senior aides now own multiple homes

[The Financial News] As President Lee Jae Myung has declared a firm principle of excluding public officials who own multiple homes from the process of drafting and deciding real estate policy, senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) have begun selling off their additional properties one after another. Following a series of recent sales, there are now no senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae who own more than one home.
According to Cheong Wa Dae on the 26th, Moon Jin-young, Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Affairs, and Cho Sung-joo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Personnel Affairs, have recently sold the extra homes they owned and are now each left with a single residence.
Previously, the "2026 Regular Asset Change Report for Public Officials" (as of December 31 last year), released in the official gazette on the 26th by the Public Service Ethics Committee in the Government, had classified both senior secretaries as owners of multiple homes. Moon was listed as owning an apartment in Yongsan District, Seoul, a mixed-use residential and commercial unit with an underground shopping arcade in Gangnam District, Seoul, and a detached house in Busan Metropolitan City under his spouse’s name. He has since completed the sale of the Busan property.
Cho was also recorded as co-owning, with his spouse, an apartment in Seocho District, Seoul, and a mixed-use residential and commercial unit in Sejong Special Self-Governing City. He has recently finalized the sale contract for the Sejong property. Due to the time gap between the reporting date and the publication date, he still appeared on the list as a multiple-home owner, but in reality he has already resolved his multiple-home status.
Not only senior secretaries but also working-level staff are moving quickly to dispose of additional homes. Kim Hyun-ji, Chief of the First Presidential Aide Office, who owns an apartment in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province and another in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province under her spouse’s name, making her a two-home owner, is currently in the process of selling these properties. In particular, Lee Sung-hoon, Secretary to the President for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who is directly involved in real estate policy decisions, is reported to be selling all of his holdings: one apartment in Sejong Special Self-Governing City under his own name, as well as a multi-family house and an apartment share in Gangnam District, Seoul under his spouse’s name.
These moves are seen as preemptive steps to bolster public trust in upcoming high-intensity real estate measures, which Lee has signaled will include tougher tax and financial regulations, and to minimize any potential conflicts of interest.
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung had already sold an apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Kim Sang-ho, Director of the Chunchugwan Press Center, who once owned a total of seven units — six villas in Gangnam District, Seoul and one apartment in Gwangjin District, Seoul — is also reported to be in the process of selling his properties.
Meanwhile, the latest asset disclosure data for public officials show that, among the 47 Cheong Wa Dae aides listed, 10 people — or 21% — previously owned two or more homes, excluding overseas properties and officetels.

jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter