"Is There a Law Against Real Estate Investment?" Controversy Over LH Employee's Brazen Attitude

LH Employees' Land Speculation Allegations Spread Widely
Hong Nam-gi "Strict Response with Zero Tolerance"

Amid allegations of land purchase by LH executives and employees, people are seen moving at the entrance of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) headquarters in Chungmugong-dong, Jinju-si, Gyeongnam, on the afternoon of the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), who are suspected of purchasing land in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns in Gyeonggi Province for speculative purposes, are causing public outrage by showing a brazen attitude on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind'.

Recently, posts related to the LH speculation allegations have been uploaded on 'Blind'. One LH employee said, "Is there a law that says LH employees cannot invest in real estate?" and added, "Whether they used insider information to speculate unfairly or invested in real estate based on their own study is a matter for the courts or prosecutors to decide."

Another employee pointed out, "These days, with people pulling together all their resources ('Yeongkkeul') to invest in real estate, among more than 10,000 LH employees, some who bought land in Gwangmyeong might have just gotten lucky this time. But once such a media report breaks out, it immediately causes a fuss as if insider information was abused." He added, "Frankly, isn't there anyone among employees working in other public enterprises or government officials who bought land in Gwangmyeong?"

Posts by LH employees on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind'. Photo by Blind capture

Earlier, the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy held a press conference on the 2nd, raising suspicions that about 10 LH employees engaged in pre-speculation worth approximately 10 billion KRW before the announcement of the designation of the 3rd new towns in Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts.

Through an analysis of land registers, People's Solidarity and Minbyun identified that from April 2018 to June last year, 14 LH employees and their spouses and family members purchased a total of 10 parcels of land measuring 23,028㎡ (about 7,000 pyeong) for around 10 billion KRW. Approximately 5.8 billion KRW of the purchase funds are estimated to have come from financial institution loans, and the groups explained that loans were concentrated at specific financial institutions.

In particular, the land they purchased consists of farmland (jeondap) mainly distributed in the designated new town areas, where compensation in the form of acquisition or land exchange (compensation with land instead of cash) can be received once development begins.

Regarding this controversy, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated, "Areas such as real estate transactions, stock markets, and vaccine inoculations are related to the lives, property, and health of the people, and thus fairness, equity, and trust must be guaranteed more than in any other field." He added, "We must respond strictly and with zero tolerance to unfair acts and market disruption as a matter of principle."

He continued, "We must take institutional improvement measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur," emphasizing, "Real estate-related matters will be thoroughly discussed again at the Real Estate Related Ministers' Meeting on the 10th."

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