Hong Ji-sun Confirmation Hearing for Land Minister Nominee: Scrutiny of Housing Purchase and Supply Solutions

[Financial News] Hong Ji-sun, nominee for minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), will face parliamentary scrutiny after borrowing more than half the purchase price of a Seoul apartment from financial institutions and family members. A dispute is also expected over the gap between his past role overseeing the Basic Housing policy in Gyeonggi Province and the way he acquired his own home. His policy capabilities in stabilizing Seoul housing prices and expanding housing supply will be another key focus of the hearing.
According to the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on the 16th, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Hong that day to examine how he accumulated his assets and his plans for housing and real estate policy. The purchase of his Seoul apartment is expected to be a major issue. In May last year, Hong and his spouse jointly purchased an apartment in Sindorim-dong, Guro District, Seoul, for 1.005 billion won. He obtained a 367 million-won mortgage, while his spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother after signing a loan agreement. Loans from financial institutions and family members totaled 537 million won, more than half of the purchase price.
The opposition is expected to describe the purchase as an “all-in” home purchase and closely question how the funds were raised and why the home was bought. Hong has previously said that he purchased the property for actual residence, not to seek capital gains.
Hong’s past role as head of the Urban Housing Office in Gyeonggi Province, where he promoted the Basic Housing policy, is also expected to come under scrutiny. Basic Housing is a plan to provide public housing where people without homes can live for extended periods without excessive housing costs. Opposition lawmakers are expected to examine both the policy direction he emphasized at the time and his own purchase of a home using loans and family borrowing.
However, it is difficult to conclude that Hong opposed home purchases financed through loans from financial institutions. At the time, the Basic Housing policy focused on reducing the burden of high jeonse deposits and home purchases while expanding public-housing options for long-term residence. At the hearing, the ruling and opposition parties may offer differing interpretations of whether his policy position conflicts with the way he accumulated his own assets.
As a ministerial nominee, Hong’s solutions for the housing market will also be put to the test. With housing prices continuing to rise in Seoul and the capital region, lawmakers are expected to focus on where housing supply can be secured and how construction can be accelerated.
Plans to use key sites in central Seoul, including Yongsan Park, for housing supply are drawing particular attention. In written answers submitted to the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Hong indicated that the core areas of Yongsan Park should be preserved, while the possibility of supplying housing could be examined mainly in ancillary areas. He also expressed support for selectively using development-restricted areas with low conservation value or areas that have already been damaged.
Whether large public sites in central Seoul, such as the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center, can also be used for housing supply is another issue of interest. Because developing individual sites requires consultations with relevant agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the hearing is expected to examine how Hong would coordinate supply plans with local governments as head of MOLIT.
Ultimately, the focus of the hearing is expected to expand beyond the nominee’s personal home purchase to the government’s ability to implement its housing-supply policies. The key question will be whether Hong can present concrete implementation measures extending beyond the designation of potential supply sites to permitting, construction starts, and the development of transportation and other infrastructure.
Hong handled housing and transportation policies in Gyeonggi Province after serving as head of the Construction Bureau, head of the Railway Bureau, and head of the Urban Housing Office. As head of the Urban Housing Office, he was responsible for housing policies including Basic Housing, as well as work related to the Third New Towns. Whether he can connect his experience in local government to nationwide housing policy is expected to be another point of scrutiny at the hearing.
[email protected] Ahn Seung-hyun Reporter