LH employees suspicion of pre-purchase of land in Gwangmyeong and Siheung new cities… “Self-investigation”

Input 2021.03.02 13:56 | Revision 2021.03.02 14:18

Suspicion was raised that about 10 employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) had previously purchased 23,028 ㎡ (about 7,000 pyeong) of land in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, which was announced as a new public housing site last month. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH have initiated their own investigation into the allegations and plan to respond strictly to the facts of the violation.

At a press conference on the 2nd, a group of attorneys (Minbyun) for the solidarity of participation and democratic society said, “Several LH employees at the land ledger and others confirmed the situation in which the shares of the land in Gwangmyeong and Siheung were divided and purchased.”

Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts were selected as the sixth new city on February 24, and 70,000 households are expected to be built in Gwangmyeong-dong and Okgil-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, and Gwarim-dong, Siheung-si. This is the largest scale in the 3rd new city.

Participation Solidarity and Minbyun analyzed the land ledgers of some randomly selected parcels. From April 2018 to June 2020, 14 LH employees in the metropolitan area and their spouses and families all totaled 10 parcels 23,028 m 2 of 10 billion won. It was revealed that it was found to have been purchased at about.

About 5.8 billion won of purchases are estimated to be loans to financial institutions, and organizations explain that loans are concentrated in specific financial institutions. The land they bought is farmland distributed around the new city-designated areas, and when development begins, they can receive compensation for accommodation or compensation for land (a method of paying land instead of cash).

These groups said, “Some parcels were’splintered’ as soon as they were dead,” and “there is a situation that seems to have acted in knowing how to compensate for the large soil, such as having (stakeholders) have more than 1000㎡ each.”

Accordingly, the Participation Solidarity and Minbyun decided to request a public interest audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection. These groups emphasized, “As such a suspicion was revealed by investigating some randomly selected parcels, there is a possibility that there is a greater possibility of speculation and moral hazard on a larger scale involving the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH.”

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH have initiated their own investigations on allegations of speculation, and said they plan to “strictly respond” if any illegal matters are discovered. A person who uses information learned during work for other purposes, or provides or leaks information to others pursuant to the Special Public Housing Act, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than 50 million won.

An official from LH said, “We have initiated our own investigation to confirm the facts of the press conference of the Private and Participation Solidarity. We will actively cooperate with the investigation by related organizations such as the auditor, and will take action according to the relevant laws and regulations.” Replied.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport emphasized that “we plan to thoroughly investigate the suspicion, and if any illegal matters are found, we will respond strictly, such as requesting an investigation or prosecuting a complaint.”