High-ranking officials increase their wealth by 79% amid booming house prices and stock markets… An average of 1.4 billion won

The average property per capita of high-ranking government officials last year was 1,412.97 million won. Compared to the previous year, it was 131.1 million won. It was analyzed that the reason for the increase in the wealth of high-ranking officials despite the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was affected by the high-rise house prices and the stock market that continued to boom.

The Government Officials Ethics Committee released the’Regular Property Changes in 2021′ containing these details in the official gazette on the 25th. The disclosure targets include President Moon Jae-in and other government officials belonging to the administration, A grade of high-ranking public officials, the president of the National University, the head of a metropolitan/basic organization, and the superintendent of metropolitan and provincial education. It is the sum of the property of the high-ranking officials themselves and their family members, and 79.4% (1496), which is close to 8 out of 10, increased their wealth. 20.6% (389 people) lost their property.

This property disclosure was reported as of December 31 of last year, reflecting changes in property for one year in 2020. High-ranking public officials belonging to the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court were not included in this count as they were disclosed by a separate competent public officials ethics committee.

The first COVID-19 infection occurred in Korea on January 20 last year. The business activities of self-employed and small business owners have greatly shrunk due to repeated social distancing and business restrictions over the past year, but the property of high-ranking public officials has rebounded. The increase amount compiled by the Government Officials Ethics Committee is 131.1 million won. It is difficult to compare them on the same line, but considering that the increase in property for public officials revealed by the Government Officials Ethics Committee in March last year was 86 million won.

The Government Officials Ethics Committee cited the increase in the public housing price and the increase in the composite stock index for the increase in the property of high-ranking public officials. The housing price reflected in the property report of high-ranking officials is based on the’published price’. However, with the recent surge in house prices, the published price rose last year as the government announced a policy to realize the official price. The Government Officials Ethics Committee said that the publicly announced land price rose 5.95% last year, and the public housing price increased 5.98% last year.

It is said that the fluctuations in the stock price of high-ranking public officials following the rise of the composite stock index also affected the increase in the wealth of public officials. In the case of holding unlisted stocks, he explained that there was an increase in property by changing the reporting standard to the actual transaction price or the valuation from the fact that it was reported only at face value. The increase in the average asset value due to external factors such as house price and stock market boom was estimated at 77.1 million won. This means that 58% of the total wealth increase of 131.1 million won is affected by houses and stocks.

Last year, when the new term’thunderbolt beggar’, which complained of relative deprivation due to soaring house prices and the booming stock market, appeared, the average wealth of high-ranking public officials was 1,412.97 million won. The average property owned by himself was 725.47 million won, and the spouse’s property was 55.4 billion won. Even among high-ranking public officials, the phenomenon of wealth was remarkable. 52.5% (989 people), more than half of those subject to property disclosure, owned property less than 1 billion won, but 26.2% (495 people) owned property between 1 billion won and 2 billion won, and 21.3% (401 people) had property over 2 billion won. Appeared to have.

The increase in property was 79.4% (1496 people), and the number of public officials whose property declined was 20.6% (389 people). As for the factor of property reduction, the cost of living was large, and it was investigated that it was due to the notification of the previously reported property, the death of a family member, or the marriage of a child.

President Moon Jae-in’s fortune last year was 2,0772 million won. Compared to the previous year, it increased by 127 million won. They reported land in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do (1.016 billion won), houses (611 million won), automobiles (2010 Sorento 1995cc), and deposits (approximately 642 million won). Among the Blue House staff, Seo-hoon, head of the National Security Office (4.533.27 million won), had the most wealth. Lee Ho-seung, senior economic secretary (3.45.27 million won), and Kim Sang-jo, head of the policy office (2.342.39 million won), followed. Among the members of the State Council, Choi Ki-young, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Information (KRW 1,133,166,000,000) was the largest surveyed this year. Minister Choi’s wealth increased by 1,168 million won compared to the previous year. Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun reported that his fortune decreased by 560 million won compared to the previous year to 4.49 billion won.

Among the high-ranking public officials, the one with the most wealth is Kim Jong-gap, president of the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The reported property was 1,6531.2 million won, an increase of 2.8 billion won from the previous year. President Kim owns land in Wollong-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do (about 1.4 billion won) and two apartments (about 3.6 billion won) in Gangnam and Songpa, Seoul. Deposits (6.3 billion won) and stocks (5.5 billion won) make up a significant portion of the property. It has a variety of stocks, including Siemens (7339 shares) in Germany, China Alibaba Group (230 shares), and Kakao Games (20 shares). Second place was Park Young-seo, Gyeongsangbuk-do Clinic, 1,481955 million won, and third place was Noh Do-young, president of Basic Science Research Institute (14 billion,5241 million won).

Among the metropolitan local governments, Sejong Special Self-Governing Mayor Lee Chun-hee (3.25 billion won) ranked first. Gyeonggi Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myeong ranked second with 28.6437 million won. Governor Lee said that his property increased by 29.56 million won to an apartment in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do (1,113 million won) and a deposit of 1 billion won.

Reporters Hyun-ye Kim, Eun-kyung Choi, Jeong-won Heo [email protected]