Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul faced renewed scrutiny at a National Assembly confirmation hearing over his family’s special apartment allocation for demolition victims in Seoul and his eldest son’s purchase of commercial property in Bundang. Kang apologized for the real estate-related controversies but denied false residency registration, saying the family received compensation through normal government procedures after its Cheonwang-dong property was expropriated. He said the compensation had ultimately represented a major loss, noting that an apartment bought in Seocho-gu for about 500 million won is now valued at about 2 billion won. Kang also defended his 30-year-old son’s 715.5 million-won loan from a married couple surnamed Lee for the Bundang purchase, saying he was abroad in a wartime situation and could not oversee his son’s finances. The People Power Party leadership demanded that Kang withdraw, calling him unqualified. The hearing also covered his son’s military service, proposed integration of South Korea’s three military academies, wartime operational control, the Strait of Hormuz, inter-Korean military arrangements and the December 3 emergency martial law, which Kang called an obvious insurrection.