Bowed Byeon Chang-heum... "8 New Towns Under Investigation, Employees, Spouses, and Relatives Confirmed"

LH Employees' New Town Speculation Scandal Spreads
Byeon Changheum Holds Emergency Briefing and Apologizes to the Public
Government Joint Investigation Begins... All Employees of MOLIT and Others
Follow-up Measures for 2·4 Plan Proceed Without Delay

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum is apologizing on the 4th at the Joint Briefing Room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the speculation allegations of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees in the 3rd new towns such as Gwangmyeong and Siheung. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The government joint investigation team probing allegations of speculation by public officials in new towns has included two additional areas, Gwacheon District and Ansan Jangsang District, in its investigation targets alongside six new towns: Gwangmyeong Siheung, Namyangju Wangsuk, Hanam Gyosan, Incheon Gyeyang, Goyang Changneung, and Bucheon Daejang.

On the 4th, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Changheum held an emergency briefing at the Government Seoul Office, apologized for the speculation allegations involving some employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and announced plans to establish measures to prevent recurrence.

Minister Byun bowed his head and said, "Since the announcement of the Gwangmyeong Siheung new town, speculation allegations by LH employees have been raised, and some land purchases by employees have been confirmed as factual. I offer my deepest apologies to the public."

He added, "Under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office, a thorough fact-finding investigation has begun targeting employees of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, related public institutions involved in land development, and local government officials regarding speculation allegations raised in the 3rd phase new towns."

He continued, "The investigation target areas are large-scale land sites of over 1 million square meters in the 3rd phase new towns," adding, "including Gwangmyeong Siheung District, a total of eight areas." Accordingly, in addition to the six new towns including Gwangmyeong Siheung District, Gwacheon District and Ansan Jangsang District were also included in the investigation targets.

The government joint investigation team finalized the scope of investigation to include all employees of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, LH, and other public enterprises, as well as their spouses and direct relatives. For local governments where the new towns are located, since it is difficult to investigate all employees, the investigation is limited to public officials in departments related to the new towns and their spouses and direct relatives.

Minister Byun explained, "(For now) investigations will be conducted on these eight locations, and based on the results, it will be decided whether to conduct additional investigations on other smaller complexes."

Although public trust in public development has declined due to the speculation allegations involving LH executives and employees, Minister Byun stated that follow-up measures according to the 2·4 Plan will proceed without disruption.

He said, "It is regrettable that trust in the public sector has been significantly lost due to this unfortunate incident," adding, "I believe that restoring public trust involves thoroughly investigating the speculation allegations raised this time and taking measures to ensure such incidents never happen again."

He continued, "If real estate policies are pursued on this foundation, I think the execution will be more transparent and fair," adding, "Public land projects included in the 2·4 Plan are currently underway and will proceed without disruption, but thorough prior verification will be conducted to prevent incidents like this from occurring."

Regarding concerns that the effectiveness of the investigation might be reduced if the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is included in the government joint investigation team, Minister Byun said, "There are unavoidable aspects."

He stated, "The land transaction electronic network is operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, so the Ministry's participation in the investigation is unavoidable," adding, "However, under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office, related agencies including the Ministry have formed a joint investigation team, so the reliability of the investigation can be secured."

He also emphasized, "In particular, the determination of any illegalities based on the investigation results will not be made by the Ministry but will be fairly conducted by the audit offices dispatched from each agency," adding, "If public audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection or police investigations are necessary, we will actively request investigations from the relevant agencies and provide related materials."

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