[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Former and current executives of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) are under police investigation for allegedly using internal information over the past decade to trade dozens of apartments in promising development areas nationwide.
According to the police on the 15th, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul has booked and is investigating eight individuals, including current LH Grade 3 executive Mr. A, Mr. B who retired from LH over 10 years ago, and their relatives and acquaintances, on charges of violating the Real Name Real Estate Act.
Since 2010, they have traded more than 20 apartments across various locations nationwide, including Seoul, Wirye New Town, and Suwon Gwanggyo New Town. The police believe that Mr. A, who was responsible for land-related compensation assessments during new town developments and worked in multiple locations nationwide, used internal information related to residential districts to purchase apartments.
They are also reported to have established a phantom real estate corporation together four years ago to take advantage of the lower taxes applied when corporations sell apartments compared to individual multi-homeowners. They attempted to reduce taxes by selling the apartments they had purchased to the corporation at a low price and then reselling them under the corporation’s name after the price increased.
Additionally, Mr. B is known to have purchased unsold LH public housing units supplied for socially vulnerable groups.
The police reportedly began the investigation after detecting suspicious circumstances suggesting real estate transactions using internal information while collecting intelligence related to real estate speculation. A police official stated, "The investigation is in its early stages, and we are analyzing related materials," adding, "There is a possibility that the scope of the investigation will expand in the future."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
