Minbyun and People's Solidarity Press Conference
Purchase of 7,000 Pyeong Across 10 Plots Over 3 Years
[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The government is expected to face repercussions after allegations surfaced that executives and employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), the project implementer, purchased land worth over 10 billion won in advance in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district of Gyeonggi Province, newly designated as a 3rd phase new town in the Seoul metropolitan area.
The Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) held a press conference on the 2nd, announcing that they received a tip-off to Minbyun's Civil Life Committee that LH employees purchased land in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district for speculative purposes, and upon verification, confirmed the purchase. The Gwangmyeong-Siheung district, announced as a new town candidate site by the government on the 24th of last month, is planned to have 70,000 housing units on a 12.71 million square meter site, making it the largest among the 3rd phase new towns.
Minbyun stated that after cross-checking land registry documents and LH employee lists, about 10 LH employees purchased land in the planned Gwangmyeong-Siheung district between 2018 and 2020. The land they purchased consists of 10 parcels totaling 23,028 square meters (6,965 pyeong) in the Gwarim and Mujinae-dong areas of Siheung City within the district, with an estimated purchase amount in the 10 billion won range, Minbyun added. Notably, the amount of loans taken from financial institutions is estimated by Minbyun to be 5.8 billion won.
Kim Tae-geun, chairman of Minbyun's Civil Economic Committee, said, "After the announcement of the designation of the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district on the 24th of last month, we received a tip-off that LH employees purchased land in the area for speculation. Upon checking the land registers, we confirmed that several LH employees divided and purchased shares of the land."
Minbyun further added that employees from a specific regional headquarters were registered as joint owners of the purchased land, and that they purchased land in the area simultaneously under their own names, their spouses', or acquaintances' names around the same period.
Seo Seong-min, a lawyer from Minbyun's Civil Economic Committee, said, "If the investigation scope is expanded beyond the land in question to include family members or acquaintances under the employees' names, the scale of purchases could be much larger," and demanded, "A full investigation into acquisition dates and circumstances should be conducted for all Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport officials and LH employees owning land across the entire 3rd phase new towns."
Minbyun and PSPD judged that the acts likely violate the Public Officials Ethics Act's duty to prevent conflicts of interest and the Anti-Corruption Act's prohibition on using business secrets, and emphasized the need for thorough investigation and punishment of public institution employees who exploit internal development information for private gain. They announced they will request a public audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Lee Kang-hoon, executive member of PSPD's Civil Life Hope Headquarters, said, "These actions by LH employees constitute the crime of using business secrets under the Anti-Corruption Act, punishable by up to seven years imprisonment or a fine of up to 70 million won," and added, "The Board of Audit and Inspection must conduct a thorough audit to investigate the circumstances of their preemptive speculation, and the Ministry of Land and LH must transparently disclose the causes and details of the failure in management and supervision."
LH has launched an internal investigation to ascertain the facts. An LH official stated, "Regarding the development of the Gwangmyeong-Siheung new town, we are currently verifying the facts concerning allegations that our employees used internal information to purchase land," and added, "We will actively cooperate with any investigations by relevant authorities in the future."
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