By-election Battleground LH... Ruling and Opposition Parties Stake Their Lives

Lee Nak-yeon Expresses Determination for Punishment
"Establishing the Strongest Countermeasures"
Opposition Raises Ruling Party Responsibility Debate
Full-Scale Offensive on LH Special Committee Formation

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Joon-i] As the April 7 by-elections approach, the ruling and opposition parties have engaged in fierce battles over the Korean Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees' land speculation scandal. The opposition party has launched an all-out offensive, including forming a special investigation committee on LH, while the ruling party is attempting to contain the situation by pledging strong measures to prevent recurrence.

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and Joo Ho-young, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, are attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 8th, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his determination to punish the offenders firmly using resolute terms such as 'strongly,' 'soonest,' and 'never again' during the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting. Lee said, "We will punish them most strongly and establish the strongest measures to prevent recurrence in the shortest possible time to ensure that such incidents never happen again." This comes amid growing public dissatisfaction due to distrust in real estate policies. Lee reiterated, "We will reveal everything as it is through compulsory investigations and impose the strongest punishments allowed under current laws." Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader, also stated, "We will prioritize passing the so-called 'LH Speculation Prevention Act' in the March National Assembly session."

The opposition party has launched a full-scale responsibility campaign against the ruling party, which is on the defensive. On the same day, the leadership of the People Power Party criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the investigative body, and the government and ruling party's response, while announcing plans to form their own LH special committee to intensify their offensive. Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, criticized at the emergency committee meeting, "The government says it will investigate LH employees' real estate speculation, but I am very skeptical whether the investigation will be conducted properly." Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, also criticized, "No citizen trusts the government to investigate such shameless crimes committed by this administration ahead of the April 7 election," adding, "The Board of Audit and Inspection must immediately start an audit, the prosecution must take charge of the investigation, and a parliamentary audit must be conducted for the public to accept it." The opposition plans to form a separate special investigation committee at the party level to investigate the truth. Kim emphasized, "The government must order the prosecution to conduct a thorough investigation, and the People Power Party will form a special investigation committee to take charge."

Some analysts suggest that the impact of the LH scandal may vary depending on the investigation results. Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University Graduate School of Policy, predicted, "If the full investigation of the third new town development triggered by LH reveals that it was limited to the misconduct of ordinary employees, the impact will be minimal. However, if high-profile figures within the ruling party are implicated, it could have tremendous explosive power." He also predicted, "If the Moon Jae-in administration pushes this as its final 'cleansing of deep-rooted evils,' the current government's approval rating might even rise."

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