Minister Nominee Park Honggeun Says, "32 Pyeong Is Too Large... Find a Smaller Official Residence"

National Assembly Confirmation Hearing on the 23rd

An anecdote was shared that Honggeun Park, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, instructed his staff to look for the smallest possible official residence, saying, "32 pyeong or 40 pyeong is too large." Currently, nominee Park resides in an 18-pyeong (exclusive area of 49 square meters) apartment in Jungnang-gu, Seoul.

Hongkeun Park, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is attending the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee on March 23, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Taenyon Kim, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Planning and Budget nominee held at the National Assembly on March 23, "I heard that staff members brought 32-pyeong and 40-pyeong units as potential official residences, but the nominee said those were too large."

He continued, "I also heard that, as the minister in charge of the budget, you said you should set an example and instructed them to find something even smaller."

In response, nominee Park explained, "Since I have not yet been appointed as minister, I did not make that comment for myself specifically," adding, "As this is a newly established ministry and there is no official residence yet, I said that if we are to find one, it should be minimized, and that we should set an example."

To this, lawmaker Kim replied, "Is there even a place in Sejong with a smaller size than that? It's a good attitude, but it must be tough for the staff."

Meanwhile, nominee Park previously reported assets worth 623.97 million won under the names of himself, his spouse, his mother, and his child. As an incumbent member of the National Assembly, Park owns one 18-pyeong apartment in Sinhae 2-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, jointly with his spouse, which is located in his constituency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.