Hong Ji-sun defends 'all-in' apartment purchase, says it was for stable housing — not profit

Hong Ji-sun, the nominee for minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, pushed back Saturday against opposition claims that he stretched his finances to buy a Seoul apartment using a mortgage and borrowed money from his wife's family, saying the purchase was for stable housing and not to profit from rising prices.

In a statement distributed to the press Saturday, Hong said the apartment was purchased in March 2025 — before the current administration took office — while he was serving as vice mayor of Namyangju, and that he has lived there since. "It was bought for the purpose of actual residence," he said.

The office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye had earlier disclosed that Hong and his spouse jointly purchased an apartment in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul in May 2025 for 1 billion won ($739,000). Hong financed 367 million won of the purchase through a mortgage, while his wife borrowed 170 million won from her mother.

Kim's office said the apartment's current market price stands at around 1.41 billion won, meaning Hong effectively bought the unit with roughly 460 million won in cash and saw its value rise by about 400 million won in just over a year. "This constitutes an 'all-in purchase' and runs counter to the current government's real estate policy stance of curbing excessive borrowing," the office said.

Hong's camp noted that he had been living in a "jeonse" rental in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu since May 2021, and that the Sindorim apartment was chosen because it was not far from his previous neighborhood while also being accessible to both his workplace in Namyangju and his wife's office in Incheon's Seohaegu district.

"The purchase was made in the course of relocating to secure stable housing for a dual-income couple and is fundamentally different in nature from buying property to profit from price appreciation," Hong's camp added.