On the 3rd, President Moon Jae-in ordered a thorough investigation into allegations of speculation in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts by an employee of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).
“Investigation of employees and families such as Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH”
Directed after a day of alleged speculation
Some line “Why did you remove Jaehyung Choi’s auditor?”
On this day, President Moon said, “For the entire 3rd new town as well as Gwangmyeong and Siheung, thoroughly conduct a thorough land transaction survey on new housing site development-related department workers and families of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH and other related public institutions.” The spokesman said at the briefing.
President Moon continued, “The Prime Minister’s Office will conduct a thorough investigation, but jointly with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should invest enough manpower to investigate intensively so that no suspicion remains.” did.
The allegations of speculation by LH employees were raised the previous day at a lawyer meeting for a democratic society (Minbyun) and a press conference of the participation solidarity. According to Minbyun et al., 14 LH employees in the metropolitan area and their spouses and families purchased about 23,028 ㎡ (7,000 pyeong) of land in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts for 10 billion won in 2018-2020. 5.8 billion won was loans to financial institutions. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated some areas of Gwangmyeong and Siheung as the third new city on the 24th of last month.
The fact that President Moon ordered a thorough investigation within one day of raising suspicion means that he recognized the situation seriously. The suspicion that LH employees, the main body of housing supply, have systematically participated in real estate speculation, which has been intensively blocked by the Moon Jae-in administration, can shake even policy credibility. In particular, the time when LH employees purchased the land was the time when the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Chang-heum served as LH president. A key member of the Blue House said, “I know that Minister Byeon’s accountability theory has been raised, but the responsibility theory is the responsibility for the management of (employees),” and said, “The supply of’Byeon Chang-Humpyo’ should be implemented without a hitch.”
The day before, Minbyun and the Participation Solidarity requested a public interest audit to the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding the suspicion. When President Moon entrusted a thorough investigation to the Prime Minister’s Office, it was pointed out that it was “to avoid the audit of Chief Auditor Choi Jae-hyung who is critical of the government.” In a call with the JoongAng Ilbo, Kim Eun-hye, spokesman for the power of the people, said, “Doesn’t it mean’let’s cover up here’ when the Prime Minister’s office, not the prosecutors or the auditor, is conducting an investigation.” However, a key official at the Blue House said, “There is a public service manager’s office in the Prime Minister’s Office, and if you jointly (investigate) it with the auditor, the start-up time may be delayed.”
The political circles were also noisy. In the Democratic Party, there were concerns that the LH speculation suspicion could fuel the Moon Jae-in government’s real estate policy failures ahead of the 4·7 re-election. CEO Nak-Yeon Lee wrote on Facebook that “the government should quickly investigate the facts and, if necessary, thoroughly search for speculative participants through investigations,” he wrote. House Representative Kim Tae-nyeon said at the party’s Supreme Council meeting, “An anti-social act that pours cold water on the countermeasures to eradicate real estate speculation.”
On the other hand, Kim Jong-in, chairman of the People’s Power, insisted, “If LH employees know the location information of the new city in advance and do something like that, it is a criminal act and the prosecution should thoroughly investigate and reveal the full picture.” The Justice Party said, “Even so, it is a one-sided force to believe in the government’s real estate policy” (Chief Spokesperson Jung Ho-jin), and the National Assembly Party stated that “Minister Byun cannot escape from the responsibilities of management and supervision” (Senior Deputy Spokesperson Hong Kyung-hee). .
The police launched an investigation. On that day, the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency said, “The case of accusation of alleged land dumping using the internal information of LH staff was transferred.” The previous day, a civic group active bindan (CEO Hong Jeong-sik) accused LH employees of violating the obligation to prevent conflicts of interest under the Public Official Ethics Act and the prohibition of business secrets under the Anti-Corruption Act.
Reporters Kang Tae-hwa, Hyun Il-hoon, and Yoon Seong-min [email protected]
