1 in 3 Top Officials Lives in Gangnam

One out of three senior government officials live in the affluent Gangnam area south of the Han River, despite the government's pledges to cut ties between wealth and politics.

Of 639 senior Cheong Wa Dae and ministry officials and heads of government agencies, one third live in Gangnam, and 47 percent have more than two houses in the country.

Justice Party lawmaker Sim Sang-jung revealed the data on Tuesday.

Almost half of all high-ranking officials at Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Bank of Korea, which govern real estate policies, own homes in Gangnam.

The proportion was also as high in the major investigative and watchdog agencies -- the Supreme Prosecutors Office, National Tax Service, Fair Trade Commission and Financial Services Commission.

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