'Borrowed 215.5 million won from uncle, interest-free — just under the tax-free loan limit'
'Young people can't get loans, but this was a meticulously designed family gift'
Cheon Ha-ram, acting leader and floor leader of the Reform Party, said Tuesday that he had uncovered the source of funds used by the 29-year-old son of Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul to buy a commercial property worth 700 million won ($521,000) in Yangji-maeul, a Bundang neighborhood where President Lee Jae Myung's former home was located.
Cheon said in a Facebook post that day that the money had been borrowed over 10 years — 715.5 million won in total — from Kang's sister-in-law and her husband, whom the nominee's son calls his aunt and uncle.
He said the aunt and uncle also own an apartment in Yangji-maeul, calling them "a Yangji-maeul cartel family that gets along well with President Lee Jae Myung."
Cheon said he had obtained the property register for the Yangji-maeul apartment jointly owned by the aunt and uncle and found that the birth date listed matched exactly the one specified in the loan agreement. "What aunt and uncle would so readily lend 700 million won to a 29-year-old nephew who has been employed for only a year?" he said.
"In particular, he borrowed 215.5 million won interest-free over 10 years from the uncle, identified only by the surname Jeon," Cheon said. "That is just under the 217 million won ceiling for interest-free loan agreements that can be used to avoid gift tax."
"I have never in my life heard of an 'uncle privilege' like this," he said. "Calling it a loan is just a euphemism — this is nothing but a meticulously planned gift between family members. Meanwhile, young people in their 20s and 30s cannot even get a bank loan of 600 million won or more for a newlywed home because of real estate regulations."
"Some people have an aunt and uncle who hand over 700 million won without hesitation so they can buy a commercial property ahead of reconstruction, setting them up to live in a newly built Bundang apartment within a few years," he said. "President Lee, public sentiment among people in their 20s and 30s is falling fast — will you still appoint him minister?"
"Now that Kang's true colors have been revealed, there is no way out for him," he added. "I strongly urge President Lee to withdraw Kang's nomination."
Cheon first raised the issue Monday, alleging that Kang had concealed the fact that his son owned a commercial property in Yangji-maeul, Bundang, where President Lee's former home was located. In response, Kang's camp said it discovered Friday that details of the eldest son's real estate holdings had been omitted from the disclosure list submitted to the National Assembly as part of the confirmation hearing request, and that it immediately informed the Assembly and relevant institutions and completed follow-up measures, including submitting additional documents.
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