'Unaware Due to War'? Defense Minister Nominee Rebuffs Real Estate Speculation Claims as 'Framing'

[Anchor]

The confirmation hearing report for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul was also adopted solely by the ruling party. During the hearing that lasted late into last night (September 16), nominee Kang offered explanations regarding allegations surrounding his real estate dealings that are difficult to accept.

Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

The confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul concluded at around 11:10 p.m. last night.

Nominee Kang, who faces allegations of falsely registering his address in 2008 to qualify for a "special allotment for displaced residents" tied to a house he owned in Cheonwang-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, strongly argued near the end of the hearing:

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (yesterday): "In terms of market value, it is an unspeakable loss."]

He meant that the compensation was merely one-sixth of the market price in Cheonwang-dong; however, in exchange for the expropriation of the Cheonwang-dong home, he acquired an apartment in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, through the special allotment for displaced residents.

[Cheon Ha-ram / Reform Party Lawmaker (yesterday): "After receiving the allotment for displaced residents, didn't the house you bought for 520 million won become worth 2.2 billion won?"]

Nominee Kang protested, calling it a "speculator frame."

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (yesterday): "You put a frame on us and turned all of us into real estate speculators, didn't you?"]

Nominee Kang also answered that he did not know his son had borrowed about 700 million won from his aunt and uncle to purchase a commercial property in June, citing "war" as the reason.

[Seong Il-jong / People Power Party Lawmaker (yesterday): "700 million won was lent, and didn't the aunt or your children mention anything at all?"]

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (yesterday): "Because I was in a wartime situation..."]

In effect, he claimed he was unaware because he was serving as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a neighboring country of Iran, amid the US-Iran war.

Both his claim that he "did not know" about his sister-in-law and her husband lending 700 million won to his son, and his explanation that omitting his son's commercial property from the hearing materials was "his own oversight on his way back to Korea," are drawing public scrutiny.

[Lim Jong-deuk / People Power Party Lawmaker (yesterday): "If your son is vetted, the 700 million won commercial property purchase is bound to come up. Didn't you get a call (from the presidential office)?"]

The exchanges between ruling and opposition lawmakers grew sharp.

[Park Sun-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker (yesterday): "(Lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram) seems not to know because of a lack of social experience, so just say, 'This seems to be a case I am not familiar with.'"]

[Cheon Ha-ram / Reform Party Lawmaker: "I have plenty of social experience. I deserve an apology."]

The National Assembly's National Defense Committee, chaired by a ruling party lawmaker, adopted the confirmation hearing report solely by the ruling party today, just one day after the hearing concluded.

While the ruling party called him the "right person for defense reform," the opposition labeled him "a failing grade in lack of conviction and incompetence," boycotting the vote and walking out.

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