Hong Ji-seon: "I accumulated assets through jeonse and borrowed a little more to buy a home"

[Financial News] Hong Ji-seon, a nominee for minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said she accumulated assets over roughly 20 years of living in a jeonse rental and then took out a loan to buy a home as her jeonse contract neared expiration. With nearby jeonse deposits exceeding 900 million won, she said she decided it would be better to buy a home costing about 1 billion won. She explained that the purchase was not intended to profit from rising property prices.
At a confirmation hearing of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly area in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 16th, Hong said, "I also had the opportunity to accumulate substantial assets while living in jeonse."
She continued, "The hardest part was having to move every two or four years, not by my own choice but because of circumstances imposed on me." She added, "When the four-year renewal contract was due to end in late May, the landlord said in February or March that they planned to sell the home and told me to look for another place."
During her 30-year career in public service, Hong lived in a jeonse rental without owning a home for about 20 years. In May 2025, she and her spouse jointly purchased an apartment in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, for 1.005 billion won. She took out a 367 million-won mortgage, while her spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother after writing a loan agreement. Including the financial institution loan and the family borrowing, the total amounted to 537 million won of the purchase price.
Hong explained, "The landlord said they planned to sell the home, so I looked into jeonse rentals, but nearby jeonse deposits were more than 900 million won." She added, "In areas a little farther away, I could buy a home for about 1 billion won, so I borrowed a little more and bought one." She also said she had considered the costs of moving and brokerage fees.
Addressing the fact that she bought the home during a period of rising property prices, Hong emphasized that the purchase was not for investment purposes. She said, "Property prices were rising at the time, but I did not move in order to profit from a price increase. My jeonse contract was expiring, and I had to move because of circumstances beyond my control."
The hearing also saw lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties clash over Hong’s long history of living in jeonse rentals. Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party cited Hong’s case to criticize President Lee Jae Myung’s remark that "jeonse is a form of private finance" and the government’s jeonse policy. Moon Jeong-bog of the Democratic Party of Korea countered that lawmakers were portraying a nominee who had lived in jeonse for a long time and then borrowed money to buy a home as someone seeking capital gains. The hearing was temporarily suspended after lawmakers from both parties raised their voices.
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter