Lee Hyung-il Apologizes Over 'Non-Residency' Controversy; Ruling Party Lawmaker Calls It 'Embarrassing Before the Public'

[Anchor]

Confirmation hearings were held at the National Assembly yesterday (September 15) for Lee Hyung-il, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, and Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups. Both nominees faced sharp criticism that holding a single home without residing in it runs counter to the current administration's real estate policy stance.

Reporter Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

The central issue at the National Assembly confirmation hearing for Lee Hyung-il, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, was the "non-resident single home" he owned.

[Park Soo-young / People Power Party Lawmaker: There is a saying that "a home is not a place to buy, but a place to live." What is the nominee's stance on this?]

[Lee Hyung-il / Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: I believe it is necessary for a residence-oriented housing culture to take root...]

[Park Soo-young / People Power Party Lawmaker: During the 17 years you owned (the apartment), how many months did you actually live there?]

[Lee Hyung-il / Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: I lived there for about four months.]

Nominee Lee purchased an apartment in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, for 420 million won in 2009 and resided there for only four months.

The apartment in question has entered reconstruction, with capital gains expected to exceed 1 billion won.

The opposition party launched a barrage of criticism, saying this contradicts the current administration's policy stance centered on "actual residency," while this reaction emerged from the ruling party:

[Moon Jin-seog / Democratic Party Lawmaker: In any case, not having lived there is indeed a bit embarrassing before the public.]

[Lee Hyung-il / Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: I feel truly sorry for causing concern to the public over the non-residency issue.]

At the confirmation hearing for Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, the "non-resident single home" apartment she owns in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, also came under scrutiny.

[Choi Su-jin / People Power Party Lawmaker: That means you have not actually resided there for about seven years, correct?]

[Lee So-young / Nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups: That is correct.]

Nominee Lee explained that she moved to Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to run for election, denying that it was "gap investment."

Today, the National Assembly will hold confirmation hearings for Kang Shin-chul, nominee for Minister of National Defense, and Hong Ji-seon, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.