[2020 National Audit] Transparent Disclosure of Sale Price Review? ... 'Hide It Because It's a Problem'

Minutes of the Housing Price Review Committee Meeting for Yangju-si and Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province (Provided by Assemblyman So Byung-hoon’s Office)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The local government price review committees, which hold the decisive power in determining sale prices under the private land sale price ceiling system, are still being operated opaquely. Although the principle of disclosing meeting minutes was established to enhance the transparency of the price review committees installed by each local government, it has been revealed that some members opposed the disclosure of meeting minutes, saying "it would cause problems if disclosed."

On the 20th, according to a review by Assemblyman So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, of the meeting minutes submitted by each local government’s price review committee, some members of the committees affiliated with certain local governments opposed the disclosure of meeting minutes in official meetings or induced the chairperson or secretary to decide on non-disclosure.

Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act in October Last Year... Local Government Price Review Committee Member Lists and Meeting Minutes Must Be Disclosed

In October last year, the government amended and enforced related regulations to strengthen the transparency of the price review committees installed by each local government. Accordingly, the amended Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act requires that meeting minutes containing the agenda items and deliberation results discussed at the price review committee meetings be prepared and disclosed upon request after the selection of residents for the relevant housing.

In fact, at the Goyang City price review committee in Gyeonggi Province, Professor Kwon Dae-jung of Myongji University’s Department of Real Estate, who serves as the chairperson, directly urged a thorough review during a meeting, saying, "(With the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act) now the members and meeting minutes of the price review committee must be disclosed." According to Assemblyman So’s office, as a result of this influence, two out of four meeting minutes disclosed nationwide since the amendment in October last year were from the Goyang City price review committee.

Only Four Meeting Minutes Disclosed in Reality... Yangju and Hanam Decide on Non-Disclosure, Saying 'Non-Disclosure Is the Principle' and 'It Causes Problems'

On the other hand, the Yangju City price review committee in Gyeonggi Province decided not to disclose meeting minutes in both meetings held in January and March. Especially in the March meeting, the secretary, who is supposed to be a housing-related public official affiliated with the local government, stated, despite the absence of related regulations, that "non-disclosure is the principle," and other members also decided on non-disclosure, saying, "There was a problematic media report when it was disclosed before," and "It would be better to keep it as before."

At the Hanam City price review committee, despite the secretary notifying at the January meeting that meeting minutes should be disclosed, some members opposed, saying, "It was the principle of non-disclosure before." When the secretary responded, "Legally, non-disclosure is the principle, but the committee can decide by resolution," the members said, "It might be better to keep it non-disclosed," opposing the disclosure of meeting minutes following past practices, and eventually, the meeting minutes were kept confidential through a resolution.

The statements by the secretaries of these two local government price review committees appear to have mistaken the regulation in the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act, which basically keeps committee 'meetings' confidential but allows disclosure by committee resolution, as a regulation related to the disclosure of 'meeting minutes.'

Need for System Improvement for Transparent Sale Price Determination

Assemblyman So said, "In 2015, Jeonju City announced an innovation plan for the composition and operation of the price review committee, establishing a standard that 'only those who agree to disclose meeting minutes during price review for a transparent committee will be appointed,'" and added, "Since Minister Kim Hyun-mi of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also mentioned Jeonju City’s price review committee as a model case, the law should be amended so that price review committee members are appointed only among those who agree in principle to disclose meeting minutes."

Before the amendment to the enforcement decree last year, Minister Kim said, "There are doubts about whether the price review committee is functioning properly, and the public is suspicious of transparency and fairness," and "We will promote system improvements to disclose the review members and meeting minutes," citing Jeonju City’s case, where the sale price dropped by more than 10% after the actual disclosure of member lists and meeting minutes, as a model case.

Assemblyman So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Assemblyman So also emphasized, "Since it has been a year since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport amended the enforcement decree, it is necessary to investigate how much each local government is actually disclosing the member lists and meeting minutes of the price review committees," and "If only a few local governments disclose the member lists and meeting minutes despite the amendment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should acknowledge its responsibility for the failure of proper enforcement and promptly re-amend the enforcement decree of the Housing Act."