Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Reviews Housing Recovery and Prosecution for Ineligible Special Supply Winners in Sejong City

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has decided to take strong measures such as housing recovery and prosecution against ineligible winners who abused the 'Special Housing Supply for Employees of Institutions Relocated to Sejong City.'

On the 6th, MOLIT announced that it received the audit results of the special supply for institutions relocated to Sejong City from the Board of Audit and Inspection and will thoroughly investigate whether there were any illegal acts by the ineligible winners and punish them severely.

The day before, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of the audit requested by the National Assembly on MOLIT, the Administrative City Construction Agency, Sejong City, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and Korea Real Estate Board, as well as the investigation of 25,995 cases of winning special supply housing for institutions relocated to Sejong City. According to the investigation, there were 116 ineligible winners, including those who won despite not being from eligible institutions and those who won during the housing re-winning restriction period. Among them, 76 proceeded to sign sales contracts.

Ineligible winners were also found in ministries such as LH, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Ministry of Education. It was investigated that they even forged special supply eligibility certificates issued by the ministries to receive the special supply. The Board of Audit and Inspection notified MOLIT to investigate whether the unfair applicants disrupted the housing supply order and to take necessary measures.

MOLIT plans to take strong follow-up actions against 45 confirmed cases and 76 individuals of ineligible winners identified by the Board of Audit and Inspection. For the 76 people who won by violating housing supply regulations, MOLIT will notify Sejong City of the relevant facts and take measures such as contract cancellation or housing recovery.

Additionally, separate from these measures, if violations of related laws are confirmed, prosecution will follow. MOLIT will also directly investigate and prosecute cases where the project operators clearly violated laws by supplying housing to ineligible winners.

The special supply system for institutions relocated to Sejong City was introduced in 2010 to provide housing convenience for employees of relocated institutions. However, as it was abused as a speculative tool, the government abolished this system in July last year.