Byeon Chang-heum "Some staff land purchases are true... Deep apologies to the people"

Establish Thorough Recurrence Prevention Measures and Institutionalize Them
Follow-up Actions on the 2·4 Measures Proceed Without Hitches

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum is greeting after finishing a briefing on speculation related to the 3rd phase new towns at the government Seoul office briefing room on the afternoon of the 4th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Mewon] Byeon Changheum, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, apologized regarding the allegations of preemptive speculation by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district.

On the afternoon of the 4th, Minister Byeon held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office concerning speculation related to the 3rd phase new towns, stating, "After the announcement of the Gwangmyeong-Siheung new town, allegations arose that employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation, the agency proposing the district designation, speculated on the site, and some of the employees' land purchases have been confirmed as factual."

He continued, "First, I deeply apologize to the public as the minister in charge of the relevant department and the former head of the agency that managed the institution, for the unfortunate incident occurring in an agency that must execute public development projects based on policy reliability and transparency."

Minister Byeon explained, "Under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has launched a full investigation into the speculation allegations raised in the 3rd phase new towns, targeting employees of the Ministry, related public institutions involved in land development, and local government officials," adding, "the investigation will include not only the responsible public officials but also their spouses and direct relatives, to verify land ownership and transaction status."

The Ministry plans to take strict measures such as complaints, accusations, and disciplinary actions according to laws and regulations if illegal activities are confirmed through the investigation.

Minister Byeon emphasized that thorough measures to prevent recurrence will be established and institutionalized to ensure such incidents never happen again.

He stated, "We will strictly limit real estate transactions that are not for the actual residence of responsible public officials and make it mandatory to report all real estate transactions," adding, "We will also devise punishment measures for those who exploit undisclosed important information for land transactions, even if they are not the officials in charge."

He mentioned that follow-up measures according to the 2.4 Plan will proceed without disruption, unrelated to this incident. He said, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and related public institution employees will proceed with public housing projects for the stability of citizens' housing with a more strict attitude."

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