105 High-ranking Officials Disclose Their Property: Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon Turns out to Be a Rich Real Estate Owner

[경향신문]

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon announces plans to redevelop Gudeok Stadium while visiting Seo-gu as the third destination in his 15-minute Busan City Vision Tour on the morning of July 27. Yonhap News

Among the new high-ranking officials, the wealthiest turned out to be Park Jong-seung, president of the Agency for Defense Development under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration with 6,234,620,000 won. Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon reported that he possessed real estate including land and an apartment with a market value of 6.3 billion won.

The Government Ethics Committee disclosed the registered property of 105 high-ranking officials including these details on July 30. Among the officials whose property was disclosed were 39 newly elected and appointed officials, 19 who were promoted and 40 who resigned or retired.

Among the incumbent senior officials, Park Jong-seung, president of the Agency for Defense Development owned the most property. He was followed by Yi Jin-gyu, governor of Hamkyong South Province in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety with 6,177,700,000 won and Bak Byeong-ho, president of Jeonnam Provincial College with 5,821,530,000 won. Lee Eung-se, former president of the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development was the richest among those who retired or resigned from public office with 7,336,510,000 won. Lee was followed by Song Da-young, former director of the Women and Family Policy Affairs Office at the Seoul metropolitan government with 6,982,710,000 won and Seo Jung-hyup, former deputy mayor for administration of Seoul with 6,499,820,000 won.

Among the major figures whose property was disclosed, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon owned the most real estate in terms of value. The market price of the land and buildings owned by Park and his wife amounted to 6.3 billion won. Park and his wife owned 800 million won worth of land--farmland registered in his name in Cheonggwang-ri, Ilgwang-myeon in Gijang-gun, Busan and eleven other spots of land registered in his wife’s name. He also owned an apartment worth 5.5 billion won and three neighborhood facilities in Gijang-gun and Haeundae-gu, Busan. Park included his wife’s debts of 3.1 billion won and reported that his property was worth 4,238,490,000 won.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon possessed 4,879,870,000 won including a house in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul jointly registered in his and his wife’s name, forestland owned by his wife, and savings and securities worth 2.1 billion won. Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun reported property worth 4,232,580,000 won including an apartment he owned and woodland owned by his wife.

Ki Mo-ran, the Cheongwadae secretary for disease control owned 2,629,270,000 won including a house in Daejeon registered to her husband, a quarter of the shares in a house she inherited in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, a commercial building in Sejong-si she inherited, and land that her husband inherited in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do and in Sejong-si.