GOVT OFFICIALS TO SELL MULTIPLE PROPERTIES

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Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun has ordered high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae and government officials owning multiple properties to sell all but one home. Presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min has decided to sell his home in Seoul after triggering controversy for his plan to sell his property in Cheongju.

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​Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun says the public has a poor opinion of the government's real estate policies and the situation is very serious. He has ordered each ministry to find out how many homes their high-ranking officials own. The prime minister also ordered government officials who own multiple properties to sell all but one of their homes. Some 1,500 public officials of Grade 2 and higher are subject to the investigation. An official from the prime minister's office says they must sell their properties within this year.

[Soundbite] CHUNG SE-KYUN(PRIME MINISTER) : "Senior government officials must lead by example. They should have done it much earlier."

Chung stressed that the government's real estate policies will do little to curb housing prices and earn public trust if senior government officials continue to own multiple homes.

[Soundbite] "The government must react sensitively to what the public wants and provide answers to that."

The prime minister sent a powerful warning at the meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters that was attended by most of the ministers. Presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min, who triggered controversy by saying he would sell his property in Cheongju first rather than his apartment in the affluent southern area of Seoul, eventually put up his home in Seoul for sale on Wednesday. He apologized to the public for causing misunderstanding. Cheong Wa Dae says 12 senior officials of secretary level and higher own multiple homes. Five of them including Senior Presidental Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Jo won declined to answer KBS' question regarding their plans to sell off their properties. Sources say some of the senior government officials are refusing to sell their homes.