Minister Byeon Chang-heum: "Not Defending LH Employees... Submitted Consent Form for Information Collection"

"LH Staff Appearing to Defend Speculative Acts Was a Mistake"
Joint Investigation Team Arrives at LH Headquarters on the 5th Afternoon... Full-Scale Investigation Begins
Ministry of Land Also Launches Probe... All Employees Submit Consent Forms for Information Collection

Minister Byeon Chang-heum of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is filling out a personal information consent form on the 5th. / Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] On the 5th, Byeon Chang-heum, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "It was my fault that my explanation of the reasons for speculation by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) appeared to condone speculative acts."

On the same day, as controversy grew over Minister Byeon's remarks that seemed to defend the land speculation by LH employees in the Gwangmyeong Siheung district, he clarified, "Regardless of the reason, real estate speculation by executives and employees of public enterprises developing land publicly is an unacceptable act."

He also emphasized, "The Ministry of Land, local governments, LH, and local public enterprises' executives and employees will thoroughly investigate and strictly punish any real estate transactions for speculative purposes, regardless of the reason or profit, and will work on system improvements with an unforgiving stance."

The government joint investigation team arrived at the LH headquarters at 5 p.m. that day and began a full-scale investigation. They plan to strictly investigate inappropriate acts by LH executives and employees and take stern measures.

Investigations into the Ministry of Land also began on the same day. To this end, Minister Byeon announced that he submitted a consent form for the collection of land ownership information.

Minister Byeon explained, "Except for unavoidable situations such as business trips, all employees, including myself, have submitted consent forms for the collection of land ownership information," and added, "I plan to sincerely participate in the investigation starting with myself."

He reiterated, "We will do our best to restore public trust through swift and intensive investigations and punishments, establish measures to prevent recurrence, and implement the promised housing supply plans to the public."

Meanwhile, on the 4th, MBC reported on News Desk that Minister Byeon made remarks regarding employees who purchased land in Gwangmyeong Siheung, saying they probably did not invest knowing about the new town designation and that they would not receive much compensation. This led to criticism that, although the government's joint investigation has just begun, the minister of the relevant department was preemptively drawing conclusions and trying to defend them.