Prosecutors Conduct Search and Seizure at Home and Office of Evaluation Committee Member in 'LH Supervision Bid Rigging' Allegation

On the 20th, the prosecution investigating allegations of bid-rigging in the supervision contracts of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) conducted a search and seizure of two companies suspected of collusion with LH evaluation committee members at the time.

The Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yong Seong-jin) dispatched prosecutors and investigators to nine residences and offices of related parties, as well as two architectural offices, to secure relevant materials.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Choi Seok-jin

The search and seizure targets on this day also included the offices of employees from the Sports Promotion Division of Gwangju City Hall and the Architecture Division of Yongin City Hall. The prosecution believes these individuals participated as evaluation committee members in past LH assessments and were involved in misconduct, prompting the seizure of mobile phones, work logs, and other materials.

The prosecution is investigating allegations of violation of the Fair Trade Act, where companies allegedly prearranged the order and winning bidders in supervision service bids for apartment construction projects, including Happy Housing districts, commissioned by LH and the Public Procurement Service from 2019 to last year.

In particular, the investigation is focusing on whether evaluation committee members were involved, based on the fact that the companies receiving high evaluation scores won bids at a rate of 90.2%.

In August and November, the prosecution conducted search and seizures at 16 architectural offices, including Heerim Architects & Planners. Including the two offices searched this day, the total number of companies under investigation has risen to 18. It is known that a significant number of the targeted companies employ former LH staff as retired officials.