Changwon Special City, "The idle land status data was not provided at the request of Mr. Myeong Taegyun"

"Data Prepared by Changwon City to Proactively Respond to Corporate and Institutional Investment Attraction" Statement Released

Changwon Special City recently stated on the 29th that the report on the status of idle land, which was leaked at the request of Mr. Myeong Taegyun, was created by Changwon City as a proactive response to attract investment from companies and institutions.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

Regarding Ms. Kang Hyekyung's claim that the document was created and handed over by Changwon City at the request of Mr. Myeong Taegyun, the city said, "This is completely untrue," adding, "The document was prepared as part of establishing an integrated management system for idle land information within the city to proactively respond to investment attraction from companies and institutions."

They explained that this can be confirmed through materials such as the Economic and Job Bureau’s regular briefing document (September 15, 2022, Establishment of an Integrated System for Idle Land to Proactively Attract Investment) and the press release (Changwon Special City, Investment Attraction System Establishment, June 1, 2023).

In particular, Changwon City stated that it does not know the acquisition route of the document by Ms. Kang Hyekyung and will investigate any connections with Changwon City.

Furthermore, the city clarified that the material is not designated as “confidential” requiring extreme security, but “since it contains some sensitive matters such as management information of owners (corporations, etc.), the phrase ‘prohibition of external leakage’ was included to caution the person in charge about data management due to concerns over personal information leakage and real estate speculation.”

A city official said regarding future plans, “We will comprehensively investigate the creation and distribution of the document in relation to Ms. Kang Hyekyung’s claims,” and emphasized once again, “Under no circumstances was the document created at the request of Mr. Myeong Taegyun.”