Kang Shincheol States "Compensation for Relocated Residents Was Legitimate" Amid Real Estate Suspicions

At the Confirmation Hearing
“Apologies to the Public”

Kang Shincheol, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, stated at his confirmation hearing on September 16 that he sincerely apologizes that he and his family have not met the public’s expectations regarding real estate allegations. However, he emphasized that there was no illegal conduct involved.

Appearing at the National Assembly confirmation hearing that day, Kang said, “As the Minister of National Defense nominee, I apologize to the public that issues related to real estate have come up at this hearing.” He continued, “Like any other service member, I have never paid attention to increasing my assets through real estate or stocks during my military career,” and added, “This is the first time I have heard of the term ‘special housing allocation for displaced residents.’”

Yonhap News

Regarding receiving compensation as a displaced resident for a house in Cheonwang-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul in 2008 and then being allotted a new apartment in Seocho-gu, Kang highlighted, “I received compensation in accordance with due process.” He explained, “It was the house where I was born and raised, one that I designed and built to live in even after leaving military service. However, the land and house were expropriated by the government, and I was compensated through normal procedures according to government policy.”

Kang further emphasized, “At the time, we suffered significant losses due to the government’s land expropriation. I believe we received fair compensation.” Regarding the accusation that, just before being designated for compensation as a displaced resident in March 2008, his official address was registered at the Cheonwang-dong house in Seoul while actually residing in Gangwon Province, Kang explained, “I cannot remember why the address was changed at the time. I moved frequently due to my military career, and that was one of those occasions.”

On the issue of his eldest son borrowing about 700 million won from his aunt and uncle to purchase a commercial apartment unit in Bundang, Kang said, “As the minister nominee, I sincerely apologize for not meeting the public’s expectations.”

He added, “It is difficult as a father to interfere in the economic activities of a son who is thirty years old,” but admitted, “As a parent, I did not monitor the situation thoroughly.” Regarding the omission of his son’s commercial apartment unit in his initial asset disclosure, Kang explained, “I was returning from abroad at the time the disclosure was filed and was unable to confirm the details properly. That was my oversight.”

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