Deputy PM nominee donated W88m last year: parliament

Kim Dong-yeon, the nominee for deputy prime minister for the economy and finance minister, donated half of his yearly income last year, parliamentary data revealed Wednesday.

According to data submitted by Kim for his confirmation hearing, the nominee returned to society 88 million won ($78,000) of the 186 million won he earned as a university president in 2016.

He received a tax refund of 27 million won in the year-end tax adjustment. Kim also made donations of some 45 million won in 2015. His reported property is worth 2.2 billion won, of which 1.3 billion won is under his name. The amount includes the value of the real estate.

President Moon Jae-in tapped Kim as the head of the Finance Ministry on Sunday, saying Kim had “comprehensive crisis management capacity and a positive drive” to come up with measures to overcome societal issues including the low birth rate.

In the submitted request form, Moon also explained that a new finance minister is responsible for resolving the unemployment issue while effectively responding to risks both inside and outside of the country.

“The nominee has abundant work experience in the government and as a university president, and he is viewed as having macroscopic insights into the economy,” he added.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)