Land Ministry, NTS Criticized Over Statistical Errors; Data Chief Ahn Hyeongjun: "We'll Correct Them and Restore Trust"

Ahn Hyeongjun, head of the Ministry of Data and Statistics, said on October 15, responding to criticism over statistical errors at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Tax Service, “We are working to disclose errors, correct them and earn the public’s trust.”

Ahn Hyungjun, head of the Ministry of Data and Statistics, touches his head while answering questions during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the Korea Customs Service and the Public Procurement Service by the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee at Government Complex Daejeon on the 15th. Yonhap News

Ahn made the remarks at a parliamentary audit held that day at Government Complex Daejeon, saying, “I understand there was an error in the data extraction.”

Rep. Lim Lee-ja of the People Power Party criticized the agencies, saying, “There was a major discrepancy in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s housing construction figures, and the National Tax Service also made an error in its figures for active businesses in 100 sectors closely tied to everyday life and left it unaddressed for three months.” She added, “National statistics have become ‘rubber-band statistics.’”

Ahn added, “The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements is studying the real estate statistics error and discussing it with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. We will also work to reduce errors.”

At the audit that day, indicators on the risks of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also came under scrutiny. Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon of the People Power Party criticized the Ministry of Data and Statistics, saying that although the Financial Services Commission’s request for a preliminary impact assessment sent to the ministry was inadequate, the ministry exempted it from a substantive assessment, and that the similar statistical indicator it cited as grounds for the exemption dated from 2021 and had a different level of risk.

In response, Ahn explained, “Statistical-based policy management is a system that checks whether statistics necessary to implement a law exist when laws are enacted or amended, and recommends enactment or amendment if they do not.” He added, “A request concerning the same enforcement decree came in once in 2021, and when we reviewed it, we determined that the statistics existed.” He continued, “We were not trying to stand by or help anyone. We only checked whether the statistics existed, and we concluded that they did. We will build our capacity and work harder to address any shortcomings.”

In response to a question from independent Rep. Lee Chun-seok, who said regional statistics were inadequate due to factors including budget constraints, Ahn said, “I agree, and we will work in that direction.” He added, “Of the 89 cities, counties and districts for which we compile the living-population figures, we have selected three for a regional-specialization initiative. We will work to expand it.”

Ahn also said, in response to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon’s criticism that data silos between government ministries should be addressed, “In fact, each ministry has good data, but it is all separated.” He added, “We plan to create a system that links and uses the data and enables evidence-based policymaking.”

When Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Oh Ki-hyung proposed creating a framework of indicators for housing stability, Ahn replied that he would consider the suggestion.

In his briefing that day, Ahn said the ministry was pursuing enactment of the National Data Framework Act to establish government-wide data governance. He added that new items, including the use of AI and the operation of smart factories, had been incorporated into the 2025-based Economic Census conducted in 2026, with results scheduled to be released around December 2026. He also said that the groundwork for compiling a multidimensional inequality index had been laid in August 2026, and that in 2027 the ministry would study the effects of social inequality on population structure and regional balance.

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