Witnesses deny alleged Moon-era blacklist of 19 property policy critics
Version 2: Witnesses who appeared at the afternoon audit session denied that any blacklist document was drawn up or that their departments had access to the asset information, and the lawmaker said the denials raised the possibility of perjury; earlier versions carried only the morning allegation and the ministry's pledge to check.
In short
People Power Party Rep. Kim Eun-hye told the National Assembly's Oct. 7 audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that the Moon Jae-in-era ministry collected the remarks and property holdings of 19 private citizens who criticised its real estate policy and reported them to senior officials, disclosing a document estimated to date from November 2019. She called it illegal surveillance, abuse of authority and a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act; Land Minister Hong Ji-sun said he would check and answer at a later questioning. At the afternoon session two former ministry and Korea Appraisal Board officials denied the document or any access to asset information, and Kim said the denials raised the possibility of perjury.
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People Power Party Rep. Kim Eun-hye alleged at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Oct. 7 that the Moon Jae-in-era ministry gathered information on private citizens who criticised its real estate policy and reported it to senior officials, according to Yonhap, Asia Economy and SBS News. She disclosed a document estimated to have been written in November 2019 and titled “부동산 전문가 현황”. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 ]
According to Kim, the document covered 19 people — reportedly including well-known YouTubers, businesspeople and former journalists — setting out their remarks against the government's property regulations, such as “시장을 이기는 규제는 없다” and “분양가 상한제는 실패할 것”, alongside their property holdings and the circumstances of their purchases. Yonhap and SBS reported that it included analysis linking personal and asset information, such as a note on the need to check the source of purchase funds given an owner's age and the correlation with properties held. Asia Economy reported that one person's history of owning homes in Gangnam, Gyeonggi and Gwacheon was listed as a notable point, and that his bullish view of the Seoul and capital-area market was linked in the document to a Gangnam property. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Kim said the document was produced by the housing statistics department of the Korea Appraisal Board, now the Korea Real Estate Board, on the instruction of the ministry's housing policy division, and that there were indications it was reported up to then-minister Kim Hyun-mi and other senior officials. She said some of those involved in writing and reporting it still hold senior posts at the ministry. Kim called the document evidence of “불법 사찰”, describing it as a case of abuse of authority and a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, and said she would submit all related materials if judicial authorities request them. [ 1 , 3 ]
Land Minister Hong Ji-sun replied that he would check the matter and answer at the next questioning, Yonhap and SBS reported. Ruling Democratic Party lawmakers objected: the party's floor secretary on the committee, Rep. Bok Ki-wang, said presenting unheard-of material as fact on the first day of the audit would only turn it into a partisan battleground, Asia Economy and SBS reported. Korea Economic Daily headlined its report as Kim alleging that a blacklist of 19 policy critics had been drawn up. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
At the afternoon session, two former officials appeared as witnesses and denied the allegation, Newsis reported. Lee Myung-seop, a former head of the ministry's housing policy division who now heads the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, said he did not know what the document was and that no blacklist had ever been drawn up. Lee Dong-hwan, formerly head of the Korea Appraisal Board's housing statistics department, said his department had no access rights to real estate asset information. Kim responded that the denials raised the possibility of perjury. [ 7 ]
Why it matters
The allegation concerns a sitting ministry and how a past administration handled private citizens who criticised its policy, and the lawmaker has said she would hand related materials to judicial authorities if asked. The ministry has not confirmed the document and the claim is disputed along party lines, so the audit session itself settles nothing. Witnesses who appeared the same day denied it, leaving the question open.
Key facts
- People Power Party Rep. Kim Eun-hye disclosed the document at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit of the ministry on Oct. 7 [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 ]
- The document was estimated to have been written in November 2019 and titled “부동산 전문가 현황”; according to Kim it covered 19 experts critical of the government's real estate policy [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 ]
- Kim said the document collected critical remarks such as “시장을 이기는 규제는 없다” and “분양가 상한제는 실패할 것” and linked personal information with property holdings and purchase details [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Those listed reportedly included well-known YouTubers, businesspeople and former journalists [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kim said the document was produced by the housing statistics department of the Korea Appraisal Board (now the Korea Real Estate Board) at the ministry's instruction and reported up to then-minister Kim Hyun-mi and other senior officials [ 1 , 3 ]
- Land Minister Hong Ji-sun said he would check the matter and answer at the next questioning [ 1 , 3 ]
- At the afternoon session, two former officials gave testimony denying the document or access to asset information [ 7 ]
- Democratic Party Rep. Bok Ki-wang, the ruling party's floor secretary on the committee, said presenting unverified material as fact on the first day of the audit turned it into a partisan dispute [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Rep. Kim Eun-hye made the allegation at the Oct. 7 National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit of the ministry [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 ]
- According to Kim, the disclosed document concerned 19 private experts critical of the government's real estate policy and included their asset information [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 ]
- Land Minister Hong Ji-sun responded that he would check the matter and answer at the next questioning [ 1 , 3 ]
- Democratic Party lawmakers objected during the audit, saying the material's authenticity had not been verified [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the document is authentic and who ordered its production Kim presented it as evidence, Democratic Party lawmakers said its authenticity was unverified, and the land minister said only that he would check.
- Whether the document was produced and reported as Kim described The chain of production is stated by Kim alone; the ministry and the Korea Appraisal Board have not confirmed it, and witnesses at the afternoon session denied it.
- The weight of the witnesses' denials The testimony is reported by a single outlet and no other document in this set covers the afternoon session; Kim said the denials raised the possibility of perjury.
- Whether officials involved in writing and reporting the document still hold senior posts at the ministry Stated only by Kim, a single source, and not corroborated by another outlet or by the ministry.
- Whether the ministry will confirm or deny the allegation, and whether judicial authorities will investigate The minister deferred his answer to a later questioning, and Kim said only that she would submit materials if judicial authorities request them.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap reports Rep. Kim Eun-hye disclosed the document at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit and alleged illegal surveillance by the Moon-era ministry [ 1 ]
- Asia Economy reports Kim's claim that a ministry unit targeted private individuals and collected their critical remarks and housing ownership histories [ 2 ]
- SBS News reports the allegation and Land Minister Hong Ji-sun's reply that he would check and answer at the next questioning [ 3 ]
- Newsis reports the audit clash over the surveillance claim, with the ruling party calling the material unheard-of and the opposition describing a “부동산 공안 통치” [ 4 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports that the audit raised suspicions the Moon-era ministry collected personal information on 19 critics and reported it to senior officials [ 5 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports Kim's claim that a blacklist of 19 critics of the government's property policy was drawn up [ 6 ]
- Newsis reports that witnesses at the afternoon session denied the document existed and denied having access to asset information [ 7 ]
- Chosun Ilbo, in a report dated Oct. 8, summarises the allegation that personal information on 19 critics was collected, including housing holdings and purchase details [ 8 ]