Defense nominee Kang Shin-chul accused of using false registration to obtain special apartment allocation

Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul has been accused of moving his registered address to Seoul while serving at a frontline military unit so he could obtain a special apartment allocation.

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The nominee appears to have acquired a Seocho District apartment worth 2.2 billion won through a special allocation for displaced residents after securing that status through deliberate false registration.

The allegation is that Kang sought the benefit of a displaced-resident allocation by registering in Seoul and then acquired an apartment in Seocho District. Kang’s camp said the address reflected his hometown of Seoul during a series of remote-area assignments, and denied that the application was improper.

Reform Party lawmaker Chun Ha-ram, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, held a news conference on the 6th and accused Kang of staging what he called a “displaced-resident act” to obtain the Seocho Nature Hill 3 complex apartment through an improper application.

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He used a ‘displaced-resident act’ to improperly apply for the apartment.

Chun said evidence suggested that Kang deliberately changed his registered address to secure displaced-resident status and receive the special allocation. He put the apartment’s market value at about 2.2 billion won. Chun’s office said it reached its conclusion after analyzing Kang’s personnel hearing request documents and other materials.

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He registered his hometown of Seoul as his address during rotations to remote areas.

Kang’s side has rejected the allegation, saying that his address registration resulted from the rotation system for service in remote areas. It said the claim that he made an improper housing application was not true.

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The claim that this was an improper housing subscription is different from the facts.