Joo Jinwoo: "Nominee Lee Yongcheol Suspected of Falsely Reporting Farmland in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province"

Joo Jinwoo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said on the 9th that Lee Yongcheol, the nominee for minister of justice, "falsely reported a parcel of farmland in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, that he purchased in 2021 as a building and lot with facilities related to animals and plants," adding that "some crops are currently planted there, but the facts need to be established, including whether the land was for speculation and who farmed it."

At a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on Monday afternoon, Joo said, "How can a nominee for minister of justice tell the public to obey the law when he violated the Building Act by putting up an illegal structure and violated the Public Service Ethics Act by falsely reporting farmland as a building and lot when registering his assets?"

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jinwoo is conducting a filibuster against the Special Counsel Act on Manipulated Indictments in the National Assembly plenary chamber on the 6th. 2026.11.06 Photo by Yoon Dongju

According to Joo, Lee purchased a parcel of farmland in Bonghyeon-ri, Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, for 70 million won in May 2021. Then, last year, when registering his assets as head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, he reported the farmland as a building and lot. Joo said the farmland adjoins a country house and lot that Lee purchased and gifted to his child, and that one container currently stands on the farmland, storing some materials.

"I believe this false report was a ploy to sidestep allegations of farmland speculation," Joo said. "When Lee purchased the farmland in 2021, he was running a law office, and since November last year he has served as head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. When could he have personally farmed the land?"

He continued, "The farmland effectively serves as the front yard of the country house gifted to his daughter. Buying farmland adjoining a country house immediately after purchasing it and putting up an illegal structure (a container) is a textbook case of seeking investment returns. I urge the relevant authorities to investigate."

Addressing his claim that the farmland Lee owns was acquired for investment returns, Joo said, "We have not yet finished analyzing the connections, as we spent the weekend checking the site. We will conduct further analysis and announce any links to nearby areas with planned investments. However, if you include the farmland, the house, and the forest land he purchased despite it being landlocked, the properties form a rectangular plot. Depending on future development in the Seoul metropolitan area and Gwangju City, substantial capital gains could be expected."

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