Seoul City Conducts Full Investigation of 112 Local Housing Cooperatives... "Strong Measures Against Fraud"

Reviewing False Exaggerated Advertising and Cooperative Accounting Operations

Seoul City announced on the 11th that it will conduct a full-scale investigation of 112 local housing cooperatives.

The investigation will take place from the 23rd of this month to the 25th of next month, comprehensively inspecting ▲false or exaggerated advertising ▲service contract signing ▲financial management including funding and execution ▲information disclosure, among other aspects.

Currently, there are a total of 118 local housing cooperatives operating within Seoul. Earlier this year, the city conducted a sample survey on 7 cooperatives and uncovered a total of 94 cases of irregularities. This investigation will cover 112 cooperatives, including one that avoided the survey in the first half of the year.

Among the investigation targets, 7 cooperatives with ongoing complaints due to internal conflicts will undergo focused investigations jointly conducted with district offices and experts (accountants and lawyers). The remaining 105 cooperatives will be investigated by joint investigation teams formed by the district offices to which the cooperatives belong. Prior to the investigation, the teams will conduct a written survey on the cooperatives’ basic status, including project overview, progress, and complaints, followed by thorough on-site inspections at cooperative offices and promotional centers.

On the 20th, a meeting will be held with public lawyers and accountants regarding attendance at local housing cooperative general meetings and the investigation. This meeting will cover Seoul-style local housing cooperative management plans, explanations of the investigation’s purpose and methods, and sharing of inspection cases by experts who previously participated in the investigation. The city also plans to expand support for expert participation and activity expenses in self-conducted investigations upon district office requests.

After the investigation, if the same irregularities are detected more than twice, strict administrative measures such as immediate fines under the Housing Act and related regulations, investigation requests, or prosecutions will be enforced. Detailed findings for each cooperative will be disclosed to cooperative members via the cooperatives’ official websites, and disclosure performance will also be monitored.

The investigation results can be checked on the Jeongbi Project Information website and the respective district office websites for each project.

Han Byung-yong, Director of the Seoul City Housing Office, stated, "We will continue to improve the system through ongoing investigations to ensure that cooperative members do not suffer any damages."