[세종 르포] The smart industrial complex designated site is full of’honeycombs’… Former Vice Minister, City Councilman Suspicion of Speculation

Input 2021.03.18 06:00

Yeonseo-myeon, a beehive village for speculators, designated as a national industrial complex in Sejong City
A lot of prefab buildings in a sparse countryside… Planting seedlings
Residents and village halls have a countermeasure committee… “Just cancel development”
Sejong City announces interim investigation on alleged speculation on the 18th

“People who don’t know come and go, and a prefab building was built. Foreigners came in and came out on the news and it’s just noisy. Just cancel the development. I want to live comfortably.”

On the morning of the 16th, a resident in their 60s met at the entrance road to the village of Wachon-ri, Yeonseo-myeon, Sejong-si, to a reporter who visited for an interview. Wachon-ri, where 600 people live in, is constantly appearing every time real estate speculation news comes out. Whenever a view of the village appears on various broadcast news screens, residents are said to be pounding in heart.

At the entrance to the village,’Are you easy to be a farmer? There were red banners stating’Anti against association of Sejong National Industrial Complex (industrial complex)’ and’Anti against association of Sejong Industrial Complex expelling indigenous peoples’. After 2.7 million square meters of Yeonseo-myeon area was designated as a candidate for smart national industrial complex (industrial complex) in 2018, speculators flocked from all over the country. There were beehives built to receive land compensation throughout the village.

◇When I went to the beehive village, the gas tank was left unattended, and the use of electricity was ‘0’… Aboriginal people only sighed

About 20 official brokerage offices were located on the 600m long round-trip two-lane road connecting Wachon-ri and Buam-ri, where the industrial complex entered. On the glass windows, advertisements to attract investment such as land, large soil, and foreign investment counseling welcome were posted competitively. I thought that the whole town had been thrown away for the prey of speculators. One villager expressed hostility, saying, “You should be free from real estate.”

After passing the entrance and arriving at Wachon-ri, which is about 5 minutes away by car, five prefabricated buildings that were built for compensation were noticeable. It has formed a so-called’beehive village’. The prefabricated buildings were in a clean condition compared to the surrounding farmhouses that looked very old.

Mail and address signs were circulating on the ground in the front yard of the house. Most of the houses were covered with blinds so that you could not see the inside from the windows. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner was full of weeds, and the LPG gas cylinder was not even connected at all. The electric meter was stopped. I couldn’t find any sign that people were living.

Seedlings were planted next to other prefab houses. It was a scene reminiscent of the land dumping technique of LH employees who planted seedlings in the farmland of Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts, which are candidates for the 3rd new city.

The’Sejong National Industrial Complex Residents’ Countermeasure Committee’ office’ was established in the Wachon 1-ri Village Hall across the road from the beehive village, as if he was angry at the speculation of foreigners. Banners were hung all over the building with’deprivation of indigenous peoples’ right to live, opposition of association with Sejong Industrial Complex’ and’opposition of association of Sejong Industrial Complex expelling indigenous peoples’.

In addition, while driving on the nearby national highway, it was easy to see the banners of the Sejong City Hall and Justice Party, saying, ‘You are informed of real estate speculation by public officials.’

The natives also shouted as they passed by the beehive village, whether they were tired of the speculation of outsiders. A villager who was carrying fertilizers also said, “I don’t know what kind of uproar these days, broadcasting station cameras come too often,” and “sometimes people come, but it’s almost empty.”

In addition, the natives complained that their homes were disappearing as the land prices rose too much. One resident said, “I want to increase the field, but the price of the land has risen, so I can’t get the land.” In fact, a land in Wolhari, Yeonseo-myeon, 10 minutes away from Wachon-ri, was traded at 740 million won in 2015, but sold for 4.34 billion won in January this year. It has been nearly six times in five years. The official land price of Wachon-ri beehive village has also nearly doubled compared to 2018, when most of them were purchased.

In Sejong City, not only the candidate site for the industrial complex here, but also the apartments are showing an overheating pattern. According to the public housing price announced on the 15th, Sejong City surged more than 70% from last year. Considering that the national average public housing price increase rate was 19.08%, it was almost four times higher. For example, for 106.63m2 of Doram Village 9 Complex, Dodam-dong, Sejong City, the official price rose 64.5% from 516 million won last year to 849 million won this year.
▲ If you click the image with the mouse and move it left or right, you can compare the appearance of the Sejong City government building site in 2006 with the appearance of the government building in 2020.
◇LH crisis, the next target is’Sejong’, the number one land price rise… Only 171 people violating the farmland law

Sejong City has emerged as the center of various alleged speculation cases after the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employee suspicion of land dumping in the third new city. In the Blue House national petition, petitions to conduct real estate speculation investigations in Sejong City come up every day.

One petitioner said on the 9th, “Sejong City is a planned city largely created by the government and LH as part of the administrative capital, and is a mountain site of real estate speculation.” On the previous day, he requested the dispatch of a government-level investigation team, saying, “Looking at the speculation of LH employees in the planned area of ​​Sindoji in Gwangmyeong Siheung, we have a suspicion that speculation of similar behavior has occurred in Sejong.

In fact, Sejong City is a multi-administrative city, and most of the government ministries come down, and development benefits such as the relocation of the National Assembly are concentrated. In addition, a subway extension project connecting Banseok Station of Daejeon Subway Line 1 and the Government Complex Sejong is also being promoted. In addition, if the Sejong Smart National Industrial Complex starts construction in 2023 and moves in in 2025, it can become a mini-capital that combines the functions of politics, public, jobs, and urban centers.

As the news came, land transactions increased sharply. According to Sejong City, the total land transaction volume in Sejong City in the fourth quarter of last year was 5189 lots, which is a survey that is about twice as high as the quarterly transaction volume (2,690 lots) in the same quarter last year. The pure land transaction volume refers to the number of pure land transactions excluding land attached to buildings such as apartments. Among the forest fields in the city, 381 lots of land with more than 20 people’s shareholdings were counted. In the case of a hill in Giryong-ri, Yeonseo-myeon, 770 owners shared a parcel.

Due to this background, the rate of increase in land prices in Sejong was the highest among cities and provinces nationwide at 3.60% as of the fourth quarter of last year. This is three times that of Busan (1.24%), the second place.

As land sales by foreigners seeking compensation increase, various problems are erupting. According to Sejong City, as a result of last year’s survey on farmland use, 171 people were caught violating the Farmland Act. 93 were each revealed through a regular investigation by Sejong City and 78 through a special investigation by the police. These are cases of fallow (152 people) who do not properly farm after purchasing farmland in Sejong area within the last five years since 2015 or leave it to someone else for lease (19 people).

The total landed area alone amounts to 111 parcels, 12.1㏊. Sejong City believes that more than 90% of them are outsiders and is in the process of hearing.

An official from Sejong City said, “We are currently receiving prior opinions from the land owners in question, and if there is no farming fact last year, a disposition obligation will be issued. In case of non-compliance, the enforcement fee will be imposed at 20% of the publicly announced land price.” For this purpose, a total investigation of obstacles to identify cultivated plants and buildings is being conducted on farmland.”

◇ Three Sejong civil servants initiated police investigation… Announcement of survey results on the 18th

The Sejong Police Department is also speeding up the investigation of allegations of land dumping, such as public officials in Sejong City. On the 14th, Sejong City asked the police for an investigation on his wife, who is a civil servant like Mr. A, a sixth-level civil servant, and his younger brother, a fourth-class executive. The day before, Mr. A voluntarily reported the real estate transaction activity in Wachon-ri, Yeonseo-myeon in the industrial complex through the Real Estate Speculation Reporting Center for public officials.

As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that in February 2018, Mr. A received a loan from a unit agricultural cooperative in the Sejong region, purchased it under his wife’s name, and built a prefabricated building called a’honeycomb. The Sejong Police applied the allegations of the Anti-Corruption Act to the three officials, and switched from internal investigations to investigations.

The police went on to confirm the former head of the Administrative City Construction Agency who purchased the land in the area adjacent to the national industrial complex. From 2013 to July 2017, Mr. B, who served as the Commissioner of the Happiness Centered Complex City Construction Administration (Happy Administration) (Vice Minister-level), shared 622m² of land and 246.4m² of building in Bongam-ri, Yeonseo-myeon, Sejong-si in November 2017, right after retirement. It was bought for 80 million won. Currently, one real estate and two restaurants are operating in a prefabricated building.

There are reports of land speculation not only against public officials, but also against political figures. In addition, a suspicion was raised that the chairman and lawmakers of the city council belonging to the Democratic Party purchased land in Jochiwon-eup under the name of his wife and mother, and then organized a road pavement budget to speculate on real estate.

An official from Sejong City said, “Currently, we have formed a joint speculation investigation team related to the industrial complex,” and said, “We plan to make an interim announcement related to the investigation at the mayor’s regular briefing tomorrow (18th).”