Byeon Chang-heum "Apartment Sale Cost Disclosure Causes Exhaustive Controversy"

Nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Chang-Hoon Byun (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Byun Chang-heum, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, expressed a critical stance on the disclosure of apartment sale costs, which he advocated during his academic career, citing that the issue involves excessive controversies over appropriateness.

In response to a written question submitted to the National Assembly on the 21st by Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, who pointed out that "unlike the past when the disclosure of sale costs was deemed necessary, the sale costs of 10-year public rental housing were not disclosed," Byun replied, "While working at Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), I came to understand that disclosing sale costs causes excessive controversies over appropriateness and other issues."

Byun had repeatedly emphasized the need for disclosure of sale costs through articles and other writings during his academic career to promote transparency in construction projects.

Last July, members of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice held a press conference in front of the Democratic Party of Korea headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, condemning the Democratic Party lawmakers for failing to fulfill their housing disposal pledges. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

However, in April last year, when he was serving as the president of LH, LH refused a request for information disclosure from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) regarding design statements, contract statements, and subcontract statements for 12 LH complexes.

At that time, LH refused disclosure citing Article 9, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 7 of the "Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies," stating that the information was "related to business and trade secrets, and its disclosure is recognized to significantly harm the legitimate interests of the corporation." Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), which received information disclosure requests for eight complexes, also refused for the same reason.

In response, CCEJ filed administrative lawsuits against LH and SH Corporation and won the first trial in April. However, LH and SH Corporation appealed, and CCEJ also filed a cross-appeal, stating that the ruling was not at the desired level.

Regarding this, Byun stated, "I fundamentally believe that disclosing sale prices is appropriate so that consumers can make rational choices about apartment prices," emphasizing that the number of public land sale price disclosure items has been significantly expanded to 62.

However, he added, "However, there are many pros and cons regarding the disclosure of actual construction costs incurred at the time of completion after the sale is completed," and said, "If appointed as minister, I will review this after gathering various opinions," showing a reserved stance on the actual disclosure of construction costs.

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