Suwon Station 'Tingsmall' Ongoing Tragedy... Police Investigation Underway

BoYoung Construction as Developer and Hanmi Financial Group Holding Priority Profit Rights Dispute
Police Investigate 'Illicit Loan Suspicion' Complaint Case
15-Year Project Stalled, Becoming an Eyesore
Fate Likely Decided by Investigation Outcome

Suwon Tings Mall. / KakaoMap Road View capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Tings Mall project, a large-scale complex shopping center near Suwon Station with an appraised value of 155 billion KRW, shows little sign of returning to normal. After being stalled for 15 years, it has recently reached the point where a police investigation is underway.

According to the police on the 9th, a police investigation is ongoing as the dispute between Hanmi Financial Group, which secured the priority profit rights for Tings Mall, and the developer Boyoung Construction has intensified. The Suseo Police Station in Seoul is investigating a case in which shareholders of Boyoung Construction filed a complaint accusing Hanmi Financial Group officials of fraud, forgery of private documents, unauthorized use of qualifications, fabrication and use of false documents, among other charges.

Boyoung Construction claims that Hanmi Financial Group obtained a loan of 17 billion KRW in June this year during the process of securing the priority profit bond, and that this was done through illicit means. When Boyoung Construction refused to stamp documents such as the debt inquiry statement and asset transfer consent form in its name, Hanmi Financial Group allegedly arbitrarily changed the CEO, directors, and corporate seal and submitted the related documents to the lending institution.

Hanmi Financial Group denies these allegations. A representative stated, "The loan was secured by pledging the priority profit bond regardless of the shareholder changes in Boyoung Construction," and added, "If the other party’s claim were true, it would mean we received documents signed by the changed CEO of Boyoung Construction for the loan, but there is not a single such document."

When construction began in 2005, Suwon’s Tings Mall was expected to be a "golden goose," raising high hopes among local merchants and citizens. The reasoning was that a large complex shopping center in front of Suwon Station, which sees a daily floating population of 350,000, would hardly fail. However, the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis severely depressed the real estate market, and the building’s location near a red-light district led to very low sales rates. The project was halted after 97% of construction was completed. Once anticipated as a "landmark" of Suwon, Tings Mall has now become an eyesore.

In 2014, when Suwon City announced a redevelopment project for the red-light district, the Tings Mall project had a chance for revival. Hanmi Financial Group secured the priority profit rights, but with the added suspicion of illicit loans, the normalization of Tings Mall has become difficult for the time being. Ultimately, the future of the Tings Mall project will likely be decided based on the results of the police investigation. The police have assigned an investigation team and are reviewing materials submitted by the complainants.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.