Land speculation reports are coming… Uneasy civil servants and politicians

Input 2021.03.05 14:16 | Revision 2021.03.05 14:42

After suspicion that some employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) had speculated in Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns in Gyeonggi Province in advance, reports of politicians and public officials’ land purchase behaviors as a civic group have been pouring out. Politicians and public officials who have land look like they are restless.

According to the meeting of lawyers for democratic society (Minbyun) on the 5th, reports on land investment in the third new town are being followed. Minbyun and the Participation Solidarity are also considering holding an additional press conference after reviewing the credibility of the report itself. It is known that the contents of the report are detailed enough to include speculation structures and techniques that are difficult for the general public to know.

As a result, politicians and public officials are worried that they will get caught up in word of mouth. President Moon Jae-in said, “Please thoroughly conduct a total land transaction survey on new housing development-related departments such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, LH, and related public institutions, and their families, for the entire 3rd new town as well as Gwangmyeong and Siheung.” This is because a joint government investigation team composed of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, led by the Prime Minister’s Office, was launched immediately.

According to each local government, Siheung City and Gwangmyeong City are grasping the current status of land transactions of public officials related to the controversial Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts. Representative examples include Gwangmyeong-dong, Okgil-dong, Noonsa-dong, Gahak-dong, Siheung-si Gwarim-dong, Mujinae-dong, and Geumi-dong in Gwangmyeong-si. It is planned to conduct a total survey on land transactions of public officials in the Jangsang-Singil District 2 of Ansan-si. This place was designated as the 3rd new city site in May last year.

An official from Siheung City Hall said, “People who have lived in this neighborhood for a long time have been given land from their parents, but they are worried that this will cause them to get caught up in rumors.” An official from Gwacheon City Hall also said, “A colleague who has land inherited from his parents in the neighborhood is worried about being engulfed in useless controversy.” .

For some officials and politicians, past suspicions are rising again. The Participation Solidarity requested an investigation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, saying that the land owned by former Vice Minister Park Seon-ho of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year was included in the planned area of ​​the Gwacheon New Town announced by the government in 2018, and may have a conflict of interest.

At the time, Vice Minister Park said in a statement, “Gwacheon land was donated by half of the 2519㎡ (about 762 pyeong) of land from his father in April 1990 and held it for more than 30 years. As it was accepted as a business, the land was acquired at the large soil level,” he said. “We did not participate in the process of selecting a new city in Gwacheon at all.” Former Vice-Minister Park has been greeted by LH’s next president.

In addition, Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun also announced that public officials of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and Blue House personnel who were able to confirm the information of the third new city in a total survey led by the Prime Minister’s Office were excluded. It is being talked about. It is a kind of dissatisfaction that it is not convincing to exclude members of the National Assembly and Blue House personnel who were in a position to speculate by obtaining prior information.

Choi Hye-gyeong, the spouse of Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun’s candidate, owned 6,4790 m2 of land (3.26.2 billion won) near Jangseong-dong, Buk-gu, Pohang City. The official land price of this land was 29,430 won per 3.3 m² in 2004, but rose to 16,3020 won per 3.3 m² in 2019. This is due to the successive development of housing sites such as Jangseong District, Yangdeok District, and Chimchon District.

Citizen’s anger is only growing. Mr. Kim, 43, a resident near the Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts, who became controversial this time, said, “I don’t think that only the LH staff knew the information and bought the land. All the city council members, lawmakers, and high-ranking public officials should all know the information.” Everyone who was in the position should search.”

Experts point out that real estate speculation by high-ranking officials deserves condemnation, but points out that the social atmosphere should not flow toward getting a finger on the ground or getting caught up in rumors because they own the land. It is not that having a lot of land is a problem, but that it is a problem that he has been speculating in advance using information obtained from work such as a development plan.

KB Kookmin Bank Chief Real Estate Expert Park Won-gap said, “The discussion should not flow in a strange direction.”