Ji-Sun Hong’s Confirmation Hearing Focuses on Military Service, Rental History, and Mother’s Home (Comprehensive)

Countering the "Basic Housing" Criticism with the Example of the GTX Project

At the confirmation hearing for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport nominee Hong Jiseon held on the 16th, tensions flared between the ruling and opposition parties over issues such as military service and frequent moves between jeonse apartments. The opposition questioned Hong's history of property purchases and failure to submit certain documents, raising doubts about her policy suitability. Meanwhile, the ruling party deployed a defensive argument and focused on verifying her policy credentials.

Five Moves in Jeonse Apartments → 1 Billion-Won Home... Repeated Questions About Mother’s House

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ji-seon Hong is drinking water at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Hong Jiseon's housing history and the process by which she purchased her apartment became major points of contention. After selling her apartment in Suwon in 2012, Hong moved between jeonse leases five times in areas such as Nowon, Suwon, and Yeongdeungpo. In March of last year, she purchased an 84.87 square meter apartment in Sindorim Taeyoung Town in Guro-gu, Seoul with her spouse for 1,005,000,000 won. Of the funds used, 367 million won was secured through a mortgage loan, while 170 million won was borrowed from her mother-in-law.

The ruling People Power Party criticized the contradiction between government policy and the nominee's prior behavior. Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, remarked, "The president has said that jeonse is an abnormal form of private finance and needs to be reduced. But before the nominee purchased this 1,005,000,000 won apartment in Seoul last year, she moved five times over 13 years, all through jeonse leases." Kim also referenced the average monthly rent for apartments in Seoul now exceeding 1.6 million won, pressing, "Is your history of jeonse moves abnormal, or is it the president’s idea that abolishing jeonse is abnormal?"

Hong responded, "It’s not that jeonse is abnormal, but rather that it’s difficult given our country’s current situation." Regarding the reason behind purchasing her home, she explained, "At the end of last May, my rental contract expired and the landlord planned to sell the apartment, so I was told to look for another place." She continued, "When you switch jeonse apartments, you don’t just lose your deposit; you also have to pay moving and brokerage fees," adding, "The hardest part of living under the jeonse system was being forced to move every two or four years against my will."

The Democratic Party of Korea moved to counter the speculation frame. Moon Jeong-bok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, countered, "A couple in high public office worked hard to buy a one billion won apartment using a jeonse loan, and I was angered to hear suggestions that they were aiming for a capital gain." She addressed controversy about positive real estate prospects for the apartment’s location, saying, "The GTX B line was included in the second national railway network plan in 2011. To say over ten years later that this announcement has affected property prices is an unreasonable frame." Fellow party member Ahn Tae-jun also asked, "Did you buy this property to really live in with your family, not as an investment?" and prompted Hong to clarify, "You are paying interest and faithfully repaying the borrowed money from your mother, correct?" to which Hong agreed.

The issue of whether Hong's mother was actually living in her apartment, and a formatting error on a rental contract, were also raised. Kang Dae-sik of the People Power Party stated, "It’s been 10 years since your mother bought her apartment in Ilsan, but according to the records, she’s never lived there." Kang pressed further: "Shouldn’t we give preferential treatment to people who own and actually live in their only home? As the minister responsible, what do you think the public will make of this?" He also criticized that the contract submitted to the National Assembly carried a seal indicating it was a verified copy, but still included a field for a foreign resident registration number, which he pointed out as a formatting mistake. Hong explained this as a mere "oversight."

Hong clarified the reason for her mother’s absence: "My father became ill again and was hospitalized for an extended time, so my mother couldn’t live in the apartment." On the formatting issue, she responded, "It happened when my mother and the tenant drew up the contract in a private transaction and filled in the form themselves."

Missing Military Service Records... Hong Jiseon: "Not Refusing to Submit"

Hong Jiseon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 16th and gave an opening statement. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Regarding the controversy over missing military service documentation, Bu Seung-kwan of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "In March 1990, the population was very large, so not many people actually served on active duty. The loss of records by the Military Manpower Administration isn’t really your fault, is it?" Hong responded, "I only learned this when preparing for the confirmation hearing and obtaining my military records. I believe I faithfully served for 18 months."

In the policy realm, ideological debate erupted over the concept of ‘basic housing.’ Kim Jong-yang of the People Power Party criticized, "When the president was governor of Gyeonggi-do, basic housing was his top priority, and Hong Jiseon was responsible for executing and implementing it. Doesn’t this reinforce the suspicion that Korea is becoming socialist, with public institutions distributing housing?"

Hong countered, "The core idea of basic housing was to provide stable public rental homes to those who have a certain income but little in the way of assets." Referring to the GTX project, which she previously proposed while in Gyeonggi Province, she said, "When Gyeonggi-do first proposed the GTX project, there wasn’t much support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, politics, or local communities, but in the long run, it turned out to be the right policy. The same logic applies to basic housing."

The heated debate also included the issue of how to use the returned land from Yongsan Park, which has long been a point of contention with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Lee Yong-seon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Although Seoul's population declines 0.7% every year, the number of households keeps increasing, and two-thirds of all households are now single-person households. Shouldn't we actively consider developing previously damaged areas to benefit future generations, while leaving the park itself intact?"

Hong replied, "The principle is to turn the Yongsan U.S. military base return area into parkland. However, if there's public consensus, after communicating with the public, we could consider supplying housing for young people in the outskirts for future generations." She added, "Even if we try to move forward, we would first need sufficient coordination with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and legislative discussion in the National Assembly."

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