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First vice land minister apologizes for wife’s controversial apartment investment

Published: 23 Oct. 2025, 11:29

First Vice Land Minister Lee Sang-kyeong apologizes on Oct. 23 via a YouTube livestream for his recent controversial remarks on real estate and allegations of engaging in a speculative gap investment. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

First Vice Land Minister Lee Sang-kyeong apologized on Thursday after coming under fire for his spouse’s "gap investment" to finance a multimillion-won apartment purchase — a move critics say contradicts his own advice to would-be homebuyers.

"I sincerely apologize for causing distress to the public," Lee said in a statement released via the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s official YouTube channel. "I am here to address my recent remarks during a YouTube broadcast and to explain the details surrounding the apartment purchase."

Lee had appeared on a Korean real estate investment YouTube channel on Sunday to promote the government’s new real estate policy package, which rolled out on Oct. 15. During the interview, he said it would be better for prospective homebuyers to wait and purchase later once their income and assets increased, provided home prices remained stable — a statement seen as out of touch with average citizens.

The backlash intensified after it was revealed that Lee’s spouse purchased a 3.35 billion won ($2.33 million) apartment in Bundang District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, last year, financing 1.48 billion won of the payment through a jeonse (lump sum rent) deposit — a practice widely associated with speculative “gap investments,” which ironically, the recent Oct. 15 real estate measures he was promoting aimed to curb.

"I appeared on the broadcast to explain the new housing policy in detail, but in the process, I failed to fully consider the perspective of people working hard to achieve the dream of owning a home," Lee said. "Although my spouse purchased the apartment for residential purposes, I humbly acknowledge that it fell short of public expectations."

Lee added that he would reflect deeply on the controversy and vowed to do his best to stabilize the housing market as a public official responsible for real estate policy.

Calls for Lee’s resignation have mounted, with Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jie-won stating during a radio interview Thursday that Lee "should step down for making remarks that offended the public."

Park also urged Land Minister Kim Yun-duk to request Lee’s dismissal from Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, and called on the president to take responsibility and remove Lee from his post.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]