[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A former employee of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Jeonbuk Regional Headquarters, accused of real estate speculation using insider information, was sentenced to prison in the first trial. This is the first verdict where an LH employee was found guilty following related allegations.
On the 18th, Judge Kim Kyung-sun of the Jeonju District Court Criminal Division 4 sentenced LH Jeonbuk Headquarters employee A (49) to 1 year and 6 months in prison.
The court judged that A, who worked at LH Jeonbuk Headquarters for nearly 20 years, effectively used insider information for speculation. The court stated, "The public housing development in Sambong, Wanju, Jeonbuk, drafted by the defendant as the person in charge, was information that LH had not disclosed externally at the time," and "If the specific development plan was not known, only LH staff in charge could access this information."
Earlier, A was accused of real estate speculation by purchasing about 400 pyeong of land in a development area in Wanju in 2015 using insider information, together with two acquaintances under his wife's name for approximately 300 million KRW. He was reportedly responsible for 'Wanju Sambong Public Housing Project permits and design work' at LH Jeonbuk Regional Headquarters until recently. The land price is estimated to have risen over 40% (based on official land price) in five years.
This ruling is expected to influence other LH-related trials in the future. The government joint special investigation headquarters leading the LH investigation has referred 1,044 people (25 detained) to the prosecution as of June and is investigating 1,929 others. Among them, 383 were decided not to be prosecuted due to lack of evidence.
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