Kang Shin-chul Says He First Learned of 'Special Housing Allotment for Evicted Residents,' Apologizes Over Son's Commercial Property

[Anchor]

At the confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul, key issues included a "special housing allotment for evicted residents" and his son's purchase of commercial real estate worth 700 million won. Nominee Kang claimed that receiving the special allotment was legitimate compensation, and explained that he had been unaware of his son's purchase of the commercial unit.

Kim Bo-mi reports.

[Reporter]

In 2008, Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul received a special housing allotment intended for residents displaced from Cheonwang-dong in Guro-gu, Seoul, and acquired an apartment in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, in 2012, facing allegations of having falsely registered his address in Cheonwang-dong.

At his National Assembly confirmation hearing today (September 16), Nominee Kang made this claim:

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee: "I received compensation through normal procedures. On that day, it was the first time I had even heard the term 'special allotment for evicted residents,' when Committee Member Chun Ha-ram mentioned it."]

When asked why he had transferred his registered address to Seoul while stationed at a military unit in Gangwon-do at the time, he replied, "I do not remember."

Criticism also poured in over the fact that documents Kang submitted to the National Assembly omitted the fact that his son had purchased commercial property in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, in June after borrowing over 700 million won from his aunt and uncle.

Nominee Kang said he had not known about his son's purchase, and apologized, saying the omission of the data was his oversight.

[Seong Il-jong / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Your son has assets of only about 70 million won, but he bought a commercial property in Yangji Village for about 700 million won. Were you aware of this?"]

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee: "As a father, it is difficult to interfere in every detail of the financial life of a 30-year-old son."]

A heated verbal dispute also broke out over the son setting his social media profile picture to a photo taken in uniform with Kang, who was a four-star general when his son served as an officer.

[Chun Ha-ram / New Reform Party Lawmaker: "It seems like the division commander would have wanted to polish his boots for him. Do you really believe there was no special treatment or preferential management in the unit?"]

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee: "Go to that unit and check how my son served."]

[Jin Sung-joon / National Assembly Defense Committee Chairman (Democratic Party Lawmaker): "I believe it was inappropriate to answer by telling someone to go to the unit and check directly."]

[Kim Byung-joo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "We are vetting a cabinet minister right now, are we trying to appoint the son as defense minister?"]

Nominee Kang gave a principled response regarding the issue of troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, saying he understood nothing had been decided.

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee: "Above all, I believe this is an issue that must be approached from the perspective of public safety and national interest."]

Regarding the consolidation of military academies, he raised the need to supplement the Ministry of National Defense's plan to establish an integrated Armed Forces Academy at Jaundae in Daejeon.

Video by Oh Young-chun, Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Won Hyeong-hee
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.