Lee Cabinet reports higher average wealth than predecessor

The average wealth of first-term Cabinet members under President Lee Jae-myung stood at 4.99 billion won, about 900 million won higher than the 4.09 billion won average reported for the first Cabinet of the previous administration.

The Government Public Ethics Committee released the annual asset disclosures for senior officials on Wednesday. Ethics panels under the National Assembly and the Supreme Court also disclosed the assets of lawmakers and senior judges.

Among the 1,903 officials whose assets were made public, 76.1 percent reported an increase in wealth. The largest increase was recorded by Lee Se-woong, governor of North Pyongan Province, whose stock holdings rose by 54.02 billion won from his previous filing. His total assets reached 158.72 billion won, ranking first both in overall wealth and in the size of the increase.

President Lee Jae-myung reported assets of 4.98 billion won, up 1.89 billion won from his previous disclosure. His bank deposits rose to 3 billion won, an increase of about 1.4 billion won. The presidential office said the gain reflected book royalties, salary income and valuation gains from exchange-traded funds.

Some presidential aides also saw their wealth grow, driven by rising stock prices. Lee Jang-hyung, presidential secretary for legal affairs, reported assets of 13.4 billion won, up 4.42 billion won from his previous filing due to gains in overseas equities, including Tesla. Among presidential staff, Kim Sang-ho, head of the presidential press corps, reported owning seven homes.

Among senior judges, Lim Hae-ji, chief judge of the Daegu Family Court, reported the largest assets at 38.81 billion won.


한재희 기자 hee@donga.com