Petition: "There Is a 'Preferential Allocation List' of Politicians, High-Ranking Officials, Businesspeople, and Financial Firms"
Developer: "It's a Sales List for Wealthy Asset Classes Due to High-End Apartments, Not Preferential Treatment"
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The police have begun fact-checking after receiving a petition concerning the LCT, a super high-rise residential-commercial complex in Haeundae, Busan, questioning whether it is a ‘preferential sale’ list or simply a ‘customer sales’ list.
The Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 9th that they are verifying the substance of a petition submitted as an LCT ‘preferential sale list’ involving members of the National Assembly and former ministers.
A police official stated, “Since it is still in the early stages of fact verification, there is no progress to report.”
The petition submitted to the police reportedly includes a list of about 100 names suspected of preferential sales, including politicians, high-ranking public officials, businesspeople, financiers, and media company representatives.
Previously, civic groups such as Busan Participation Solidarity have raised suspicions that the LCT side used sales rights granted to specific individuals as a means of lobbying.
In 2017, civic groups also filed complaints with the prosecution against 43 individuals, claiming they received preferential sales.
In October last year, the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office indicted only two people related to the developer among the 43 individuals suspected of illegal LCT sales on charges of violating the Housing Act, while the remaining 41 were cleared due to lack of evidence.
Regarding the preferential sale suspicions, an LCT official said, “Since these are high-priced apartments, it is basic to secure a preliminary customer base targeting the asset class (wealthy class), so the term preferential sale itself does not apply. We understand that the developer legally created a customer list for sales purposes, which is being circulated as a preferential sale list.”
The LCT side added, “We do not know the details of the petition, but we will take legal action against any false information.”
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