[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Johyun Gallery, operated by the family of Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, purchased a detached house in Cheonggwang Village, Gijang-gun, Busan, immediately following the June 3 local elections. Cheonggwang Village is the site where a foundation established by the Mayor's wife is building an art museum. Late last year, Mayor Park donated real estate in the area—which had previously been subject to speculation allegations—to this foundation, and Johyun Gallery has been purchasing land and houses in the vicinity one after another since the ownership of the Mayor's property was transferred to the foundation.
According to Bizhankook's coverage, Johyun Gallery purchased a detached house in Cheonggwang Village, Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, for 400 million won on the 10th. This detached house was newly built by a village resident named Park in May 2018, featuring two stories above ground (141㎡ in total floor area) south of the village hall. Johyun Gallery signed a sales contract with Mr. Park on the 4th—the day after the June 3 local elections—and completed the ownership transfer within six days. Johyun Gallery is a company 100% owned by the son of Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and a specially related party.
Cheonggwang Village is where a public interest foundation established by Cho Hyun, wife of Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, is building an art museum. In August 2021, Cho Hyun and an acquaintance named Cho contributed land in Cheonggwang Village to establish the Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation. It is a public interest corporation aimed at cultural welfare projects such as operating art museums and residencies. Since November last year, the foundation has been building an art museum in Cheonggwang Village with two underground and two above-ground floors (total floor area of 3,194㎡). Completion is scheduled for this month.
Johyun Gallery has continued to acquire real estate in the area since Mayor Park Heong-joon's donation of his Cheonggwang Village property. Previously, in December of last year, Mayor Park donated a commercial building and land he owned at the entrance of Cheonggwang Village to the Cheonggwang Cultural Foundation. The real estate value at the time was around 570 million won. One day after the Mayor's donation, in the same month, Johyun Gallery acquired a 1,725㎡ plot of land in Cheonggwang Village. It is located just across the road from the detached house recently purchased.
The background for Johyun Gallery's purchase of the Cheonggwang Village house has not been verified. Bizhankook inquired with Johyun Gallery regarding the purpose of the purchase and future usage plans but received no response. However, when Johyun Gallery previously purchased land in Cheonggwang Village, a Busan city official explained, "The land is intended to be used as a storage warehouse for gallery artworks and is unrelated to the foundation's projects."
The Cheonggwang Village area was the subject of speculation allegations when Mayor Park Heong-joon ran for the by-election in 2021. Mayor Park, his wife, and acquaintances purchased real estate in Cheonggwang-ri between 2015 and 2017. As the area was excluded from the nearby Busan Jangan District housing development project in 2013, expectations for real estate price increases due to adjacent development were possible. When running for the Busan Mayor by-election in 2021, Mayor Park omitted the Cheonggwang-ri building registered in his wife's name from his asset disclosure, leading some to raise suspicions of real estate speculation.
At the time, Mayor Park explained that he intended to use the Cheonggwang-ri property for an art museum and would eventually donate it. In March 2021, he stated on social media, "I convinced a few art lovers to pursue an art museum project. We decided to create a public interest foundation to manage it, selected the site together, and began planning and execution." He added, "The art museum is being built for public purposes and will ultimately be donated to society. It is not for personal gain. All assets we possess, regardless of their amount, will be put into the public interest foundation. The land will also be donated to the foundation."
Mayor Park's wife, Cho Hyun, also stated in an interview with the Seoul Economic Daily that same month, "The art museum and the public interest foundation are about giving back to society through the contribution of assets, not speculation in pursuit of profit."