Kim Yong-beom Reacts Angrily to Daughter's Renting Situation Being Mentioned in Relation to Gap Investment, Ruling Party Intervenes to Pacify

During a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 18th, Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom continued to argue while answering questions from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye. Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sang-ho intervened to stop him. Yonhap News

Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom's strong reaction on the 18th at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, when a opposition lawmaker brought up his daughter's rental situation in the context of a gap investment accusation, led to the ruling party stepping in to de-escalate the situation.

During the plenary session, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye questioned Policy Chief Kim about the funds his daughter used for rent, asking, "Didn't you purchase a house through what this government calls 'gap investment' (buying a house while holding onto a leasehold)?"

When Kim Yong-beom countered that it was not a gap investment and that he had paid the full down payment for his own home, Kim Eun-hye shifted the focus to his daughter's rental property, stating, "Your daughter can buy her own home based on the deposit, whether the parents helped with the rental funds or she saved them herself."

Kim Yong-beom responded that his daughter "does not own a home, but is renting," to which Kim Eun-hye replied, "Rent is usually talked about as a ladder to buy a home."

In response, Kim Yong-beom reiterated his denial, saying, "That is not the intention for her situation now," and "It is not a gap investment intended to own that property."

When Kim Eun-hye asked if he would tell his daughter and other young people to live in rental housing, Kim Yong-beom became visibly upset and protested, "Do not speak about my family in that manner. There is no need to mention my daughter specifically."

Even after their microphones were turned off, the two lawmakers continued their verbal exchange, with Kim Eun-hye saying, "You should put yourself in others' shoes," and Kim Yong-beom retorting, "Why are you involving my family?"

As Kim Yong-beom continued to express his anger and opposition, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sang-ho, seated next to him, attempted to calm him down.

During this exchange, Committee Chairman Kim Byung-ki, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, called out to Kim Yong-beom more than five times. When he did not stop, Kim Byung-ki raised his voice, asking, "Is this a place for the Policy Chief to get angry?" Only then did Kim Yong-beom apologize and cease his outburst.

During a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 8th, Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom continued to argue while answering questions from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye. Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sang-ho intervened to stop him. Yonhap News

Separately, during the meeting, a dispute arose between the ruling and opposition parties regarding Kim Yong-beom's past parliamentary testimony concerning the statistics used when formulating the October 15th real estate measures, with accusations of perjury being leveled.

The People Power Party and others claim that the government intentionally used only August statistics at the time of the policy announcement, despite already having secured September housing price statistics, in order to include the entire Seoul metropolitan area and parts of Gyeonggi Province in the real estate regulations.

In this regard, People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum stated during the session, "Kim stated during the last parliamentary audit that September housing price statistics did not exist on the day the regulatory areas for the October 15th measures were decided. This is clearly perjury."

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi countered that it was not perjury, arguing, "It is illegal to use unpublished statistics. The measures could not have been drafted using statistics that were not available."

The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over the government's "Government Innovation Task Force for Upholding the Constitution," which aims to identify and punish public officials who supported martial law, with the Democratic Party asking, "Why did they instigate rebellion and support it?" and the People Power Party questioning, "What crime did front-line public officials commit?"

Yonhap News