President Lee Sells Apartment for 2.9 Billion Won, Sets 1.77 Billion Won Mortgage: Why?

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung and his wife have sold their apartment in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, for 2.9 billion won. However, it has been confirmed that they set a collateral security (geunjeodang) of 1.77 billion won against the buyer during the sale process. The Blue House explained that they took the buyer's circumstances into account, but the opposition party has criticized the move as a loophole to bypass loan regulations.

Reporter Kang Cheongwan has the story.

[Reporter]

The apartment in Sunae-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which was jointly owned by President Lee Jae-myung and his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, has a dedicated area of 164 square meters.

The sale was completed on the 14th for 2.9 billion won.

According to the real estate registry,

The buyers are individuals surnamed Kim and Jo.

A collateral security of 1.77 billion won has been set on this apartment since the 16th.

The mortgagees are President Lee and his wife, who sold the house, while the debtors are the buyers, Kim and Jo.

It appears that President Lee and his wife agreed to receive 1.77 billion won of the 2.9 billion won sale price at a later date, and in exchange for transferring the ownership title to the buyers first, they secured the house as collateral.

The Blue House explained that the details on the registry, such as the collateral security, were due to the buyer's circumstances. It is reported that the President and his wife set the collateral because the buyers were unable to secure the remaining balance as their current home has not yet been sold, with the condition that the full balance be paid by the end of October.

The practice of a seller setting a collateral security while selling a house is sometimes used when the threshold for bank loans for buyers is high.

Currently, under the government's real estate loan regulations, mortgage loans are limited to a maximum of 200 million won for homes exceeding 2.5 billion won in value.

It is also reported that the transaction was expedited through this collateral arrangement because if the registration were delayed, the buyers might not be able to inherit the status of reconstruction association members, as the apartment complex is scheduled to be designated for a reconstruction project by the end of this month.

The People Power Party criticized the move, stating that while the government restricts loans for ordinary citizens, the President engaged in a loophole transaction to lend a large sum while bypassing loan regulations when selling his own home. They questioned, "Is it speculation when the public does it, but a normal transaction when the President does it?"

(Video reporting: Jung Sang-bo, Kim Se-kyung, Ha Ryung | Video editing: Yoo Mi-ra | Design: Lee Jong-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.