March 27, 2026
SEOUL – The latest mandatory asset disclosures of South Korean lawmakers show that more than half of the 300-member National Assembly were millionaires as of the end of 2025.
According to data released Thursday by the National Assembly’s Public Ethics Committee, 287 lawmakers were subject to disclosure requirements, of whom 164 reported personal assets exceeding 1.5 billion won ($1 million). South Korea’s disclosure system covers properties, securities, cash savings, vehicles and virtual assets.
According to UBS’ Global Wealth Report 2025, released in June last year, more than 1.3 million people in South Korea — which has a population of about 51 million — are estimated to be millionaires.
The filing showed that Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo and Park Duk-hyum topped the list as the wealthiest lawmakers, each holding more than 50 billion won in assets. Ahn reported 125.72 billion won, while Park declared 54.79 billion won.
Excluding the two outliers, the average wealth among lawmakers stood at 2.89 billion won.
Reps. Park Jeung, Koh Dong-jin and Baek Jong-hean each reported assets exceeding 30 billion won. Exception for Park Jeung of the Democratic Party, the rest are lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party.
The disclosures also showed that 36 lawmakers held assets of more than 5 billion won, while 216 reported more than 1 billion won in personal wealth.
At the lower end, 24 lawmakers reported assets below 500 million won. Rep. Jeong Jun-ho of the Democratic Party recorded the lowest figure, with net assets of minus 1.05 billion won due to debt. Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Jin Sun-mee also reported negative assets of minus 792.3 million won.
Reps. Son Sol of the Progressive Party and Lee Ju-hee of the Democratic Party each declared assets of less than 100 million won.
Nearly 90 percent of lawmakers saw their wealth increase over the past year. A total of 254 lawmakers, or 88.5 percent, reported gains in their personal assets in 2025. Among them, 13 saw increases of more than 1 billion won, with Koh — a former Samsung executive turned conservative lawmaker — recording the largest increase.
Ahn, despite remaining the richest lawmaker, reported an 11 billion won decline in his assets.
Those excluded from this year’s disclosure include lawmakers who concurrently serve as Cabinet ministers, a lawmaker in detention pending a criminal trial, and those who lost their seats following Supreme Court convictions.