People Power Party Special Committee on Real Estate Speculation Investigation Announces Gwangmyeong-Siheung Investigation Results
Government's LH Employee Speculation Suspects 20 People Results Are 'Superficial'
Office of Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do Requests Confirmation of Employee Status with Date of Birth
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The People Power Party confirmed the list of 9,516 executives and employees submitted by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and checked for name duplication with landowners in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung 3rd New Town. As a result, 1,396 names were found to be duplicated. In particular, among 3,962 new parcel acquirers since 2015, 705 had the same names as LH employees. The office of Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do has requested the relevant institutions to verify employee status by providing dates of birth.
On the 28th, the People Power Party’s Special Committee on Real Estate Speculation Investigation criticized the government joint investigation team’s announcement that there were 20 suspected speculators related to LH employees’ real estate speculation as a "result unacceptable to the public." They selected the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district (including Gwangmyeong-dong, Okgil-dong, Noon-sa-dong, Gahak-dong in Gwangmyeong City, and Gwarim-dong, Mujinae-dong, Geum-i-dong in Siheung City), identified as the area with the highest number of land transactions by speculators, as the first investigation target. They obtained all registry copies for 15,778 parcels designated as development districts to verify land transaction details and announced the results.
According to the findings, land transactions, which were at the level of 100 to 300 cases annually, increased significantly from 2015: 494 cases in 2015, 440 in 2016, 677 in 2017, 706 in 2018, 524 in 2019, 899 in 2020, and 198 cases as of March 2021. Over six years from 2015 to 2020, an average of 623 transactions occurred annually, more than double the previous volume.
The number of people holding parcels in the area was 8,768 (excluding state and public enterprise ownership), and 3,962 people newly acquired parcels after January 1, 2015. Among them, 1,066 people (26.9%) acquired two or more parcels, raising suspicion of real estate speculation.
Notably, among the 3,962 new parcel acquirers since 2015, 705 had the same names as LH employees. Additionally, the list of 1,208 Ministry of Strategy and Finance personnel overlapped with 236 new town landowners, and 174 names overlapped among new land acquirers since 2015. Considering the possibility of simple homonyms, Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do’s office has requested the relevant institutions to verify employee status by providing dates of birth.
The People Power Party stated, "Central government agencies such as LH and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as well as local governments, could immediately identify suspected real estate speculation cases by simply cross-checking the lists, but they are only making vague noises and responding lukewarmly." They urged the government to awaken once again.
Regarding the high-level party-government meeting announced by the Democratic Party and the government on the same day, they pointed out, "Proper fact-finding must be done for effective countermeasures to be developed."
They emphasized, "Instead of hastily announcing temporary measures ahead of elections, a thorough investigation should be conducted across the board, including LH, the Blue House, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, related government officials, local governments, and political figures, to accurately grasp the situation and prepare proper countermeasures."
At the high-level party-government meeting held at the National Assembly that day, measures to eradicate illegal real estate activities were announced, including mandatory asset registration for all public officials, confiscation of unjust profits from real estate speculation using non-public information, and fines up to five times the amount of the illicit gains.
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