Readily Lending 700 Million Won to Nephew Born in 1996? Controversy Arises Over 'Aunt and Uncle's Favor'

[Anchor]

We reported yesterday (September 7) that Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul omitted an apartment commercial building purchased by his son when submitting his confirmation hearing documents to the National Assembly. It has been revealed that the nominee's son in his 20s borrowed over 700 million won to purchase the commercial building, and the lenders were his aunt and uncle. The opposition bloc has criticized this as a meticulously planned family gift.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

The apartment commercial building in Yangji Village, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was purchased by Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul's son for 700 million won on June 30.

After it was revealed that documents related to this commercial building purchase were omitted from the property declaration details in the confirmation hearing proposal submitted to the National Assembly, nominee Kang's side submitted two promissory notes to the National Assembly stating that the nominee's son, born in 1996, had borrowed a total of 715.5 million won from two individuals to purchase the building.

Yesterday, nominee Kang's side did not disclose the identities of the lenders, citing reasons such as personal information protection. However, as confirmed today by Reform Party lawmaker Chun Ha-ram, they turned out to be the nominee's sister-in-law and her husband—in other words, the aunt and uncle of nominee Kang's son.

Notably, the son borrowed 500 million won from his aunt at an annual interest rate of 4.6%, and 215.5 million won interest-free from his uncle. This may have taken into account the maximum amount of approximately 217 million won that can be borrowed interest-free between private individuals under tax laws.

This is because if the interest-free loan amount is larger, it is considered a gift, requiring the payment of gift taxes.

Lawmaker Chun criticized the situation, asking, "What kind of aunt and uncle would readily lend 700 million won to a nephew who has only been employed for a year?" He added, "Calling it a loan is just a facade; it is no different from a meticulously planned family gift, essentially an 'aunt and uncle's favor.'"

Nominee Kang's side denied the suspicions of a gift, stating, "It is a legally executed debt between private individuals," and explained that "the nominee's son is properly and normally paying back the principal and interest."

However, they did not provide a specific response to the question of whether the loan amount was split to avoid gift taxes.

(Video reporting: Shin Dong-hwan, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Nam Il | Design: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.