The government recently announced that it will create a new city with 70,000 households in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. However, suspicions arose that about 10 employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation and LH, who played an important role in the creation of this new city, had speculated land in the area of 10 billion won.
This is reporter Jeon Hyeong-woo.
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When the Participation Solidarity and Minbyun investigated some of the land based on the report, 14 LH employees of Korea Land Corporation and two families found the situation that they had bought 23,000 square meters of new land.
Some 4,000 square meters of parcels were acquired under the joint name of four employees.
The total purchase amount was 10 billion won, of which close to 6 billion was loaned from a local agricultural cooperative.
[이강훈 변호사/참여연대 민생희망본부 : 누구보다도 많은 정보를 접할 수 있는 위치에 있는 한국토지주택공사의 임직원들이 신도시 예정지의 토지 투기를 앞장서서.]
The area has recently seen a surge in land prices.
[시흥시 과림동 공인중개사 : 평당 150만 원에서 160만 원 선이었는데 작년 연말 들어서면서 최저가가 평당 200만 원을 찍었죠. 신도시 발표 나고는 매물도 회수될뿐더러 거래할 물건 자체가 없는 거죠.]
It has been confirmed that most of the LH employees who are suspicious are currently in charge of land compensation at regional headquarters in Seoul and Gyeonggi.
LH said that 12 out of 14 people in question were identified as employees, removed their jobs and initiated an investigation.
In addition, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has decided to conduct a thorough investigation into the Gwangmyeong Siheung new city, and Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun ordered similar cases to be confirmed, and the investigation is expected to expand to the entire third new city.