Exclusive
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon’s wife sells 'speculation-suspected' Gijang land to her own foundation instead of donating it

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed through BizHankook's reporting that Jo Hyun, the wife of Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, recently sold a portion of the land in Cheonggwang-ri, Gijang-gun, Busan—which was embroiled in speculation allegations during the 2021 by-election—to a public interest foundation she established. When the allegations first arose, Mayor Park explained that the land he and his wife owned in Cheonggwang-ri would be used to build an art museum and would be donated to the public interest foundation that would manage the museum. Although his wife subsequently established the foundation and began construction of the museum by contributing some of the real estate in the area, the promise to donate the specific land suspected of speculation has not been fully honored.

According to BizHankook's reporting and real estate registers, Jo Hyun, the former representative of Johyun Gallery and wife of Mayor Park, sold a portion of the land in Cheonggwang-ri, Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun, which she had co-owned with an acquaintance surnamed Jo, to the Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation on the 11th of last month. The land transaction involved a total area of 657.15㎡, including the full share of one housing plot, partial shares of four road plots, and partial shares of two forest plots. The sale price was 530 million KRW, which is 134 million KRW higher than the purchase price from 8 years ago. Jo Hyun had originally purchased these lands jointly with the individual surnamed Jo in December 2016.

This area was the site of speculation allegations during the 2021 Busan mayoral by-election. Between 2015 and 2017, Mayor Park and his wife, along with acquaintances, purchased real estate in the Cheonggwang-ri area. Cheonggwang-ri was excluded from the nearby Busan Jangan District housing development project in 2013, sparking expectations of price increases due to adjacent development. When Mayor Park ran for the by-election in 2021, he failed to report the new building in the area in his asset declaration, leading some media outlets and political opposition to raise allegations that the couple had engaged in real estate speculation (Related article: [Exclusive] Busan Mayor Candidate Park Heong-joon suspected of under-reporting wife's land assets).

At the time, Mayor Park explained that the real estate in Cheonggwang-ri would be used for building an art museum and would be donated in the future. During the by-election in March 2021, he stated on his personal social media, "I want to clearly state that this museum is being built for public interest purposes and will ultimately be donated to society. It is not for personal gain. Whatever assets we have, we will put them all into a public interest foundation. Of course, the land will also be donated to the public interest foundation." His wife, Jo Hyun, also said in an interview with the Seoul Economic Daily that same month, "The museum and the public interest foundation are ways to return to society through the contribution of assets, not speculation for profit."

Mayor Park’s wife, Jo Hyun, did indeed establish a public interest foundation by contributing land in Cheonggwang-ri. In August 2021, Jo established the Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation by contributing three housing plots (total 1105㎡) she co-owned with the aforementioned individual surnamed Jo, along with one plot (562㎡) she owned personally. The foundation is a public interest corporation with the purpose of operating permanent art museums, residences, and cultural arts education. According to the foundation's public disclosures, the value of the contributed real estate at the time of establishment was 726.92 million KRW and 464.64 million KRW, respectively. Currently, Mayor Park’s son, surnamed Choi, serves as a director of the foundation.

Mayor Park Heong-joon mentioned the establishment of the foundation and the contribution of the Cheonggwang-ri real estate during a national audit. In October 2021, when asked about the allegations regarding the real estate by Representative Lee Hae-sik of the Democratic Party during the Busan Metropolitan City national audit, Mayor Park replied, "The purchase of that real estate was for building an art museum, and we recently created a cultural foundation and donated it for public interest." When Representative Lee countered by stating, "That is not true," pointing out the real estate not yet contributed, Mayor Park responded, "Well, we have created the foundation and put a portion of that land into it as basic assets."

Construction of the Cheonggwang-ri art museum is now within sight. The Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation received building permits last August for a cultural assembly facility (exhibition hall) with two basement floors and two floors above ground (total floor area 3194㎡) on a 6015㎡ plot in Cheonggwang-ri. Following a construction notification in November, work has begun, and foundation civil engineering work is currently underway. The completion is scheduled for June 2026. Ownership of the museum site is currently distributed among the Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation (2220㎡), an individual surnamed Lee known to be the Mayor's son-in-law, Company A represented by the Mayor's son surnamed Choi, and a KOSDAQ-listed Company B.

Regarding this, Mayor Park Heong-joon’s side explained, "We had already donated 4 out of the 5 total plots to the foundation, but the remaining plot had a bank debt of approximately 520 million KRW, making it impossible to donate. The foundation purchased it to clear the bank debt in order to receive the donation. Looking at the progress so far, the donation process is ongoing, so it is not true that the donation promise has not been fully kept." They added, "The fact that the sale price is higher than the purchase price 8 years ago is due to the sale being conducted legally based on appraisal results."