Behind LH Speculation Windfall, There Is Also a Setback from Planned Real Estate Agents

Numerous Land and Forest Plots with Over 100 Co-owners in the Gwangmyeong Area

After allegations of land speculation involving LH employees in the Gwangmyeong Siheung New Town surfaced, the government is accelerating efforts to investigate the related suspicions.
The government has formed a joint investigation team led by the First Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister's Office to conduct a full-scale investigation. By next week, they plan to complete a comprehensive review of transaction records for all current and former employees of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH. Following this, investigations will extend to public officials responsible for related tasks in local government departments and all executives and employees of development corporations affiliated with local governments.
On the 4th, saplings were planted on land near the recycling facility in Gwarim-dong, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, where LH employee speculation allegations were raised.

"That's a planned real estate scam. You can't even check the registry online. There have been ongoing rumors about the designation and development of the 3rd New Town, and it has been quite noisy for several years." (Certified Real Estate Agent A, Gahak-dong)

Amid the widespread controversy over speculation by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district, it has been confirmed that many investors in the area have also suffered losses after being deceived by planned real estate scams.

Planned real estate scams involve buying forest land, which is practically impossible to develop, at a low price, then mentioning the potential for development in the surrounding area, dividing the land into small shares as co-ownership, and selling these shares at high prices. The main targets are forest land in development-restricted zones or preservation management areas, and blind land with low transaction value. Since the land involved in planned real estate scams is mostly traded in co-ownership form, the number of owners per parcel can range from dozens to hundreds.

According to the real estate industry on the 5th, planned real estate scams have been rampant in recent years in the Gahak-dong and Noononsa-dong areas of Gwangmyeong City, which are sites for the new town. Confirmation from the Supreme Court registry office shows that there are dozens of land and forest parcels in the area with more than 10 co-owners. Some hills have over 500 registered owners under a single address, making it impossible to even view the registry online.

In fact, one forest land of about 10,000㎡ in the area had 153 co-owners, including family members of a ruling party lawmaker. According to inquiries with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, all surrounding lands were included in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district, but this particular forest land was confirmed to be excluded from the designation.

Local real estate agents unanimously agreed that such land is likely the work of planned real estate scams. A representative from B Certified Real Estate Office in Gahak-dong said, "This area has been consistently mentioned as a candidate site for the 3rd New Town, and planned real estate scams have entered quite extensively," adding, "In the case of this parcel, it appears to be a case of business conducted by baiting with development potential." It is very difficult to cancel contracts after falling victim to planned real estate scams. When cancellation is requested, the scammers often suddenly cut off contact and disappear, and due to the low asset value, selling the land is practically impossible.

Earlier, Gyeonggi Province designated a large area of 211.98㎢ as a land transaction permission zone in June last year to block planned real estate scam activities. In Gwangmyeong City, Gahak-dong, Noononsa-dong, and Iljik-dong were included in the permission targets at that time.