[사설] New City Land Speculation Government Announces Suspicion, Tails Should Not Be Cut

On the 11th, the government announced the results of the first thorough investigation on allegations of land speculation in the third new city. It is 9 days after the lawyers’ meeting for a democratic society (Minbyun) and the solidarity of participation revealed the suspicion on the 2nd. The government joint investigation team said, “As a result of an investigation into the land transaction of 14,000 employees of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH, seven more were detected in addition to 13 employees suspected of speculation raised by Minbyun and the Participation Solidarity.” Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun said, “I will scour all the doubts and suspicions like this, and I will not leave any suspicion that is dusty,” but it should not end with an empty echo.

This suspicion of speculation in the land can be said to be a problem with the government’s fate in that it has shaken the justice and justice that the Moon Jae-in administration has put as an important value. The reason why the government announced the results of the Buryaburya investigation is that the people are so angry. It is an attempt to somehow relieve the public’s anger ahead of the `4·7 Seoul-Busan mayoral by-election`. However, according to the government’s announcement, the allegations of speculation by public officials and LH employees only increase. This is because the limitations of urgent investigations conducted exclusively on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH employees themselves are too great. Some worry that it will end with’cutting the tail’. It is also questionable whether a proper investigation will be conducted when a pro-government official is involved. It can be assumed that the prosecution’s investigations related to the current regime, such as the early closure of the Wolseong nuclear power plant and intervention in the election of the Ulsan mayor, have been sluggish.

It is not simply a matter of personal deviation that public officials, who must prevent real estate speculation, use inside information to take unfair profits. As Prime Minister Chung said, “It is a betrayal to the people and a serious crime that destroys the discipline of the state.” If you try to cut off the tail, you will face headwind. If you don’t want to be too thorough enough to think it’s too much, you can’t soothe angry public sentiment or restore broken trust. The scope of the investigation should be expanded to all public officials and politicians, not limited to some ministries and local governments such as LH and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In the meantime, we must also address the institutional loopholes that prevent the penalties for real estate speculation and the recovery of unfair profits.
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]