Jisun Hong Responds to 'All-In' Home Purchase Criticism: "It Was for Stable Self-Residence"

Purchased Sindorim Apartment Using Borrowed Funds from In-Laws
Current Value Rose by 400 Million Won in One Year
"Purchase Was Not for Capital Gains"

Jisun Hong, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, addressed on September 5 concerns raised by the opposition party about her having purchased a Seoul apartment using both a mortgage loan and borrowed funds from her in-laws, characterizing it as a case of "all-in" borrowing. She explained that the purchase was made for stable self-residence, not for the purpose of capital gains.

Candidate Hong Jiseon for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

In an explanatory statement distributed to the media on this day, nominee Hong stated, "The apartment in question was purchased in March 2025, before the current administration took office, while I was serving as Deputy Mayor of Namyangju. The purchase was for the purpose of actual residence, and I have been living there since."

Previously, Assemblywoman Eunhye Kim's office from the People Power Party announced that nominee Hong, together with her spouse, had purchased an apartment in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul in May last year under joint ownership for 1.005 billion won. Nominee Hong took out a mortgage loan of 367 million won, and her spouse borrowed 170 million won from her mother.

Assemblywoman Kim's office pointed out that the current market value of the apartment is about 1.41 billion won, meaning that nominee Hong purchased the apartment with around 460 million won in cash and realized a market gain of approximately 400 million won in just over a year. They argued that this stands in contrast to the current administration's real estate policy stance, which seeks to regulate excessive borrowing.

Nominee Hong explained that she had lived in a rental apartment in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu since May 2021. She stated that she purchased the Sindorim apartment, which is not far from her existing residential area, considering commute distances to her own workplace in Namyangju and her spouse's office in Seohae-gu, Incheon.

Nominee Hong said, "The purchase of this home was made during the process of relocating our residence for stable self-occupancy, as both my spouse and I work. The nature of the purchase is different from that of acquiring a property for the purpose of capital gains."

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