DPK Says Sale of Lee's Home Was a Political Distortion, Expresses Regret

[Financial News] The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said on the 22nd that President Lee Jae-myung's sale of his apartment in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was a decision made at a loss, and expressed regret over what it called unjustified political criticism and distortion.
Kang Jun-hyun, the DPK's chief spokesperson, told reporters at the National Assembly after a Supreme Council meeting that day, "The president sold the home he had owned at below market price and became a homeowner without a home as part of his commitment to stabilizing the real estate market," and added, "The easiest choice was to keep it, and the choice that involved the greatest loss was to sell it," pushing back against opposition criticism that the move was a trick.
Kang said, "If the president had kept the property, he could have chosen to retain his status as a redevelopment association member and enjoy the right to a unit and the associated gains," adding, "Given that redevelopment is now entering a full-scale phase, this sale was not a deal to pocket profits, but a decision to give up the right to an association unit on his own."
He continued, "The mortgage was also set up with the buyer's membership status and financial situation in mind, and the seller took on the risk of recovery himself. It was a transparent transaction carried out according to the contract agreed upon by both sides," and stressed, "Its legal nature is completely different from the illegal private lending some have claimed."
He added, "Criticizing or distorting a legitimate transaction that has been transparently disclosed through actual transaction reporting and registration is not justified," and said, "We express deep regret."   
Earlier, President Lee and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung sold the Yangji Village apartment in Sunae-dong, Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which they had jointly owned, for 2.9 billion won. In the process, Lee and Kim established a mortgage of 1.77 billion won against the buyer. 
The People Power Party has criticized the move, calling it a "loophole." Jeong Jeom-sik, the floor leader, wrote on his social networking service account that day, "This astonishing apartment transaction on credit, in which he sold his own apartment with a mortgage attached, is a textbook example of a loophole," and said, "The deception of bypassing the loan regulations he himself created is a destruction of fairness and common sense." 

[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter