Investigation of 'LH Speculation Allegations' to be Handled by National Police Agency... Special Unit Formed for Real Estate Speculation Offenders

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) has decided to directly oversee the investigation into allegations of preemptive speculation by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns.

On the 5th, the NIH announced that it has formed a "Special Investigation Unit for Real Estate Speculation Offenders" to investigate allegations of preemptive speculation by LH employees in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns in Gyeonggi Province.

The special investigation unit is organized under the head of the NIH Investigation Bureau and includes the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division, the Major Crime Investigation Division, and the Crime Intelligence Division of the Investigation Bureau, as well as the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Teams of the three provincial police agencies responsible for the 3rd new town sites: Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, and Incheon Police Agency.

Each provincial police agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Team will form dedicated investigation teams to strengthen crackdowns on real estate speculation activities such as ▲ misuse of internal information by public officials ▲ illegal acquisition of real estate including name-trust and violations of the Farmland Act ▲ organized and corporate-style illegal transactions.

The "LH Corporation executives and employees speculation allegations" case, currently under investigation by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, has been designated as a case under the concentrated command of the NIH, which will oversee the entire investigation process.

Earlier, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) raised suspicions in a press conference that LH employees had pre-purchased about 7,000 pyeong of land in the newly announced public housing sites of Gwangmyeong and Siheung for approximately 10 billion won last month.

The government has formed a joint investigation team involving the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Police Agency, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon City to conduct a full-scale investigation into speculation allegations related to the 3rd new towns by LH employees and others. The Board of Audit and Inspection, which received a public interest audit request from the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Minbyun, is also reviewing whether to conduct an audit.