Already 2 Years Ago in Cheong Wa Dae Petition: "Rumors of Land Speculation by LH Insiders... Thorough Investigation Needed"

On the afternoon of the 9th, people are moving toward the main gate of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) headquarters in Chungmugong-dong, Jinju-si, Gyeongnam. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid allegations of land speculation worth billions of won by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung districts of Gyeonggi Province, it has been revealed that a similar suspicion was raised on the Blue House's national petition board two years ago, sparking controversy.

In May 2019, a post titled "Request for a full investigation related to the 3rd New Town" was uploaded on the Blue House national petition board. The petition received 3,727 signatures, falling short of the Blue House's response threshold of 200,000.

The petitioner stated, "The Changneung New Town in Goyang City, designated as part of the 3rd New Town, overlaps with an area where designation was canceled due to anticipated real estate speculation caused by information leaks before the first announcement," and claimed, "There are many rumors that government officials or LH-related personnel purchased land in this area."

They continued, "I request a full investigation of land transaction records related to these rumors," adding, "It seems necessary to investigate whether the information was directly heard by the related parties or provided to their relatives, and whether this led to actual transactions."

Furthermore, the petitioner emphasized, "It is difficult for ordinary citizens to easily understand why an area that was previously canceled has been designated again," and urged, "I hope thorough investigations will dispel doubts."

Photo by Cheong Wa Dae National Petition Board capture.

Previously, just before designating Changneung in Goyang as a new town in 2018, internal development plans of LH were leaked, causing controversy. Regarding this incident, it is reported that two out of three employees received warnings, and one received a caution.

At that time, LH initially stated that there were no plans to designate Changneung in Goyang as a new town, but a year later, the area was selected as part of the 3rd New Town. Local civic groups strongly opposed, claiming that the leaked plans matched the actual location of the designated Changneung New Town in Goyang.

Meanwhile, the government announced that it would investigate land transactions by LH employees from December 2013 onward, meaning all transactions from the period during former President Park Geun-hye's administration starting December 2013 are subject to investigation.

Choi Chang-won, the first deputy director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and head of the joint government investigation team, held a briefing on the 8th, stating, "We are verifying transaction records from December 2013, five years prior to the announcement of the 3rd New Town locations in December 2018."

Along with this, the government plans to expand and reorganize the special investigation team currently established at the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) into a 'Joint Government Special Investigation Headquarters' (JGSIH), including participation from the National Tax Service and the Financial Services Commission.

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