"How did a man born in 1996 raise 700 million won?" Chun Ha-ram alleges Kang Shin-chul concealed his eldest son’s commercial property ownership

[Financial News] Chun Ha-ram, acting leader and floor leader of the Reform Party, has repeatedly raised allegations against Kang Shin-chul, the nominee for minister of national defense. This time, Chun claimed that Kang concealed real estate assets worth approximately 700 million won owned by his son. Kang’s side explained that it completed follow-up measures, including immediately submitting the necessary documents after discovering the omission.
According to Yonhap News and Newsis on July 7, Chun held a press conference at the National Assembly that day and said, "The property disclosure submitted by the nominee lists the real estate holdings of himself and his eldest daughter. There is no mention whatsoever of his son’s real estate ownership. Yet Kang’s son owned a commercial property in Bundang Yangji Village, the same area where President Lee Jae-myung owns property."
Chun continued, "When I obtained the real estate registry for the relevant parcel, it showed that the nominee’s son had purchased a commercial property in Bundang Yangji Village for 700 million won on June 30 this year. The nominee and the government deceived the public and the National Assembly by concealing assets worth as much as 700 million won."
Chun said, "The nominee’s son completed his military service as a reserve officers’ training corps officer in June last year and had been employed at a mid-sized company for only one year. How could a son born in 1996, who would have difficulty even raising the tens of millions of won needed to pay the acquisition tax, have secured 700 million won to purchase a commercial property?" He also cited as evidence that the son’s assets totaled less than 70 million won in the property disclosure released in April, after Kang had been appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
He added, "This cannot be explained unless his parents or grandparents secretly gave him the money and instructed him to use it." He questioned the matter, saying, "Kang’s son did not have much in the way of personal assets, yet it appears he received a gift at an incredible moment—just in time to obtain a highly sought-after property."
After the press conference, Chun told reporters, "When I checked the tax payment records, I found that the eldest son had paid acquisition tax on real estate, and it happened to be in Bundang Yangji Village. It makes no sense to list the real estate holdings of a daughter living overseas in the confirmation-hearing documents while leaving out the commercial property for which ownership had actually been acquired. There is no choice but to view it as intentional."
He continued, "They gathered only real estate experts to conceal the real estate cartel in Yangji Village," adding, "Kang should apologize to the public, and I do not believe he is qualified to serve as minister."
Kang’s side responded, "On the 4th, we discovered that information concerning the eldest son’s real estate holdings had been omitted from the publicly disclosed list of the public office candidate’s property declaration included in the confirmation-hearing request submitted to the National Assembly. We immediately explained the matter to the National Assembly and relevant agencies and completed follow-up measures, including submitting the necessary documents."
It added, "The real estate information was added after the 2026 regular property disclosure. Although the relevant local tax payment records had already been attached to the confirmation-hearing request, we confirmed that the information was not added during the process of compiling the list based on the regular property disclosure."
Meanwhile, the previous day, Chun had also alleged that Kang falsely registered his residence at a home in Cheonwang-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, while serving in the military to obtain eligibility as a demolition-displaced resident, and then received a special allocation of an apartment in Seocho Nature Hill 3 Complex, Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Kang’s side responded, "The home in Cheonwang-dong was where the nominee was born and raised. It was legitimately gifted to him in 1997 and served as a residence where family members stayed from time to time. Although it was a lapse on his part that he neglected personal matters while focusing on his military duties, there was absolutely no intent to falsely register his residence and no illegality in the housing application process."
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