Lending 700 Million Won to a Nephew Born in 1996? Controversy Arises Over "Aunt and Uncle Chance"

[Anchor]

As we reported yesterday (Sept. 7), when Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul submitted his personnel hearing documents to the National Assembly, he omitted the commercial property in an apartment complex purchased by his son. It has been revealed that the nominee's son in his 20s borrowed over 700 million won to buy the commercial property, and the lenders were none other than his aunt and uncle. The opposition camp has criticized this as a meticulously planned family gift.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

The commercial building inside the Yangji Maeul apartment complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was purchased by the son of Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul for 700 million won on June 30.

After it was revealed that documents related to this commercial property purchase were omitted from the asset declaration in the personnel hearing proposal submitted to the National Assembly, the nominee's side submitted two promissory notes totaling 715.5 million won, which the nominee's son—born in 1996—borrowed from two individuals to purchase the property.

Yesterday, the nominee's side declined to reveal the identities of the lenders, citing reasons such as personal privacy. However, as verified today by Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party, the lenders turned out to be the nominee's sister-in-law and her husband—in other words, the nominee son's aunt and uncle.

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 amount appears to have taken into account roughly 217 million won, which is the maximum amount that can be legally borrowed interest-free between private individuals under tax law.

This is because if the interest-free loan amount exceeds a certain threshold, it is considered a gift, and gift tax must be paid.

Rep. Chun criticized the arrangement, asking, "What aunt and uncle would readily lend 700 million won to a nephew who has only been employed for a year?" He added, "It is practically a gift between family members meticulously planned out under the guise of a loan—a case of the 'aunt and uncle chance'."

The nominee's side denied the allegations of a gift, stating that it was a "legitimately executed debt between private individuals," and explained that "the nominee's son is properly paying back both 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.

(Camera 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.