[2021 National Audit] Second Daejang-dong Suspicion?… Food Research Institute Denies as "Baseless"

National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Controversy at the National Audit of Research Institutes under the Ministry of Science and ICT

Korea Food Research Institute Building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] On the 18th, during the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee's audit of agencies under the Ministry of Science and ICT, suspicions surrounding the sale and relocation of the Korea Food Research Institute's site in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam City became a key issue.

At the audit, Kim Young-sik, a member of the People Power Party, questioned the special favor suspicions regarding the change of land use by Seongnam City related to the recent media reports on the sale and relocation of the Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong. In 2015, following the government's public institution relocation policy, the Food Research Institute sold the Baekhyeon-dong site to a private company for 218.7 billion KRW and moved to Jeonbuk. However, most of this land was natural green space, and seven months after the purchase, the land use was upgraded by four levels to quasi-residential land on the condition of constructing rental housing, and later it even received approval for general sale apartments. The construction company that bought this site reportedly earned over 300 billion KRW in profit as a result.

In response, some media outlets and Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, have raised suspicions of a 'second Daejang-dong' scandal, suggesting that Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate who was then mayor of Seongnam, was involved and granted special favors.

Kim Young-sik summoned Baek Hyung-hee, the director of the Food Research Institute, to testify and questioned the circumstances under which the institute sent 24 official letters requesting the change to general sale to Seongnam City, and why the employees involved later faced disciplinary actions such as dismissal requested by the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Kim said, "The 2019 report on the sale issue and the recent explanation submitted after the controversy in the media differ in content. Is there an intention to hide something?" He added, "Looking at past documents, it is enough to raise controversy that special favors were given. The land received under the condition of donation has not been properly utilized. Why were 24 official letters sent to Seongnam City requesting to change rental housing to general sale?"

Kim also claimed regarding the employees' severe disciplinary actions, "This means there was administrative misconduct. If there were no special favors, there would be no severe disciplinary actions. Isn't the Baekhyeon-dong case a carbon copy of the Daejang-dong incident?" and asserted, "There was a request from Seongnam City."

However, Baek Hyung-hee, director of the Food Research Institute, flatly denied this, saying, "There was no such request from Seongnam City." Baek explained, "We only sent official letters because there was an obligation to cooperate (with the land use change) according to the contract, and the disciplinary actions against employees were due to violations of the code of conduct." He rebutted, "At that time, the site was auctioned off unsuccessfully eight times, so we were under significant pressure, and we succeeded in selling and relocating the site through our own efforts without external influence."