On the 5th, a post titled "Request to Withdraw the 3rd New Town Development" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture.
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Amid recent allegations of land pre-speculation by employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), a petition demanding the withdrawal of the 3rd New Town project has been posted on the Blue House's national petition board.
On the 5th, a post titled "Please Withdraw the 3rd New Town" was uploaded to the Blue House national petition board.
The petitioner stated, "Please withdraw the designation of the 3rd New Town led by LH," and criticized, "Should we entrust fish to a cat?"
Although the petitioner left only two short sentences without further explanation, the petition has attracted significant attention, gaining over 10,000 supporters within just two days of being posted.
As of 5:30 PM on the 7th, the petition had received 13,032 signatures.
Meanwhile, public sentiment regarding real estate has worsened as suspicions of land speculation by public corporation and local government officials have surfaced around the planned sites for the Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns in Gyeonggi Province.
Since the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society raised allegations at a press conference on the 2nd that "LH executives and employees used insider information to pre-speculate on land worth around 10 billion KRW," protests demanding a full investigation and accountability from the minister have been flooding the Blue House petition board and various online communities.
On the 7th, an anonymous post comparing LH employees and Gangnam building owners was uploaded on the workplace anonymous community 'Blind'. Photo by 'Blind' capture
The angered public sentiment has manifested as frustration among the 20s and 30s generations. On the 7th, an anonymous post on the workplace community 'Blind' expressed a mix of complaints and despair from young people, saying, "Since new towns will continue to be built, LH employees are now better off than owners of three-story commercial buildings in Gangnam."
A late-20s office worker, Mr. A, shared his feelings of depression, saying, "I realized too late that in an unfair world, living with integrity achieves nothing. As hope fades, I am beyond angry?I am exhausted."
Meanwhile, on the morning of the 7th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki bowed his head and expressed deep regret in a statement titled "A Message to the People Regarding Real Estate," saying, "As the minister responsible for the economy and overseeing public institutions, I sincerely apologize to the public."
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