Noh Yong-ho: "Gong Yeong-woon, who gifted a 3 billion won house, might have engaged in real estate speculation using Hyundai insider information"

"Why Were Houses Near Undesirable Facilities Purchased?"

No Yong-ho, a member of the Future of the People Party, raised his voice toward Gong Young-woon, the Democratic Party candidate for Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, demanding, "Explain to the public as soon as possible regarding the speculation on the relocation site of Sampyo Industry."

On the 28th, No stated on his Facebook, "Candidate Gong signed a contract on June 3, 2017, for a 35-pyeong multi-family housing site in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, for 1.18 billion KRW while serving as Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company," adding, "Neither the candidate nor his family lived there. Why on earth did he purchase a site just over 1 km away from a large ready-mixed concrete factory, known as a 'detested facility' from a residential perspective?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "One month after Candidate Gong bought the land, there was a major issue where Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Sampyo Industry, and Hyundai Steel, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, signed an agreement for the relocation of the site," asserting, "As an executive of Hyundai Group, it is inevitable to suspect real estate speculation using insider information."

No pointed out, "The land that triggered a major real estate boom has surged in value and now approaches 3 billion KRW," and added, "Even gifting the property to his son a day before the designation of the land transaction permission zone?without information accessible to anyone else and thorough planning, such speculation would be impossible, which is the public’s perspective."

Meanwhile, Candidate Gong became embroiled in a controversy over 'Dad’s chance' after it was revealed that he gifted a house worth around 3 billion KRW in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, to his son who is currently serving in the military. In response, Gong explained on his Facebook, "I thought I should gift a house to my child in preparation for future marriage and other matters," and stated, "The media called it a speculative housing purchase, but that is not true. I did not take out excessive loans to buy it for the purpose of capital gains."

Regarding the suspicion of real estate speculation using insider information ahead of the Sampyo Ready-Mixed Concrete site relocation agreement, he dismissed it as "a malicious, forced claim," and said, "The relocation of the Sampyo Ready-Mixed Concrete site has been discussed for years."