Lee Hyung-il Lived in Gwacheon Home for Just Four Months Since Buying It in 2009

Lee Hyung-il, the nominee to become South Korea’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, owned a Gwacheon apartment for nearly 17 years but lived there for only four months, according to documents submitted for his parliamentary confirmation hearing.

Lee and his wife bought the apartment in Gwacheon’s Jugong 9 complex in February 2009 and completed its registration two months later. Records analyzed by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Sang-hoon show that Lee moved in from Nov. 1, 2012, to Jan. 2, 2013, and again from Dec. 3, 2018, to Feb. 8, 2019.

The two periods each lasted about two months. In both cases, Lee registered the apartment as his residence during the gap between the end of one jeonse rental contract and moving into the next rental home. That left him, in practical terms, as a one-home owner who did not live in the property for most of the ownership period.

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The firm principle is to establish a housing market centered on residence.

The issue has drawn criticism from the opposition because Lee has emphasized owner-occupancy as a guiding principle for housing policy. Speaking as he arrived at an office in Seoul to prepare for the hearing, Lee said, "The firm principle is to establish a housing market centered on residence." Responding to questions about his own non-residence, he said the Gwacheon apartment is currently being demolished as part of reconstruction and asked for understanding of the circumstances.

The couple has completed its relocation ahead of the reconstruction, and demolition is under way. Ahn criticized the nominee, saying, "The nominee for economic chief in the Lee Jae-myung government called for a residence-centered policy, yet it has emerged that he actually lived in the property for only four months." He said the issue deserved thorough scrutiny during the hearing.

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The nominee for economic chief in the Lee Jae-myung government called for a residence-centered policy, yet it has emerged that he actually lived in the property for only four months.