Byun Chang-heum Bowed Repeatedly... "I Will Stake My Ministerial Position to Devise Measures" (Comprehensive)

Byeon Chang-heum "Constantly Emphasizing Transparency at LH..."
Feeling Futile Due to These Incidents... Shared Responsibility
Will Actively Cooperate with Future Police Investigations... Zero Tolerance
System Established to Recover Multiple Times the Unfair Profits

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Byun Chang-heum, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and former president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), recently apologized for the speculation allegations involving LH employees in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung new town, saying, "I am truly heartbroken and sorry." Minister Byun pledged to implement strong measures "at the risk of my ministerial position" to ensure that such incidents never recur.

At an emergency briefing to the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 9th, Minister Byun said in his opening remarks, "I stand here with a heavier heart than ever before," adding, "With speculation allegations involving LH executives and employees regarding the Gwangmyeong-Siheung new town site coming to light, I feel deeply devastated as the minister in charge and former head of LH."

Minister Byun emphasized, "We regard this incident as a very serious matter that affects public trust, and to restore the trust of the people, we will investigate the speculation allegations more strictly than ever before," adding, "Those involved in speculative acts will be punished under a zero-tolerance policy, and fundamental measures to prevent recurrence will be promptly prepared."

Minister Byun also explained that he would actively cooperate with the police investigation into the speculation allegations involving public officials. He said, "The National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Headquarters has also launched an investigation, and the President has emphasized the need for a swift investigation by the Criminal Investigation Headquarters," adding, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will actively cooperate to ensure that the speculation allegations are clearly revealed."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently considering expanding the scope of investigations into speculation allegations involving public officials, which have mainly focused on the 3rd phase new towns, to include areas outside the metropolitan area.

The ministry plans to punish employees found guilty of speculation without leniency through investigations and to establish measures to prevent recurrence so that such incidents never happen again.

Minister Byun said, "Employees of real estate-related institutions will, in principle, be restricted from land transactions within a certain scope, and in cases where land transactions are unavoidable, they will be required to report them," adding, "We will also impose an asset registration obligation on employees of real estate development information management institutions to establish a system for continuous monitoring."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, Minister Byun explained that a system will be established to recover unfair gains obtained through speculation by public officials and others by multiplying the amount several times.

When Park Sang-hyuk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked whether it is possible to recover the unfair profits of LH employees suspected of speculation, Minister Byun said, "Basically, there are strict punishment regulations for those who have profited by using internal confidential information," adding, "We will also mobilize LH’s internal regulations to recover unfair profits in this regard."

He added, "It depends on how broadly business secrets are interpreted, but there is a Supreme Court precedent that considers information indirectly obtained through meetings of public officials as internal secrets," adding, "If we follow this precedent, I think recovery is possible."

However, Kim Hee-guk, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "The ruling party said it would ruin public officials involved in land speculation, but there are only four laws applicable to this case: the Anti-Corruption Act, the Special Act on Public Housing, the Farmland Act, and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation Act," adding, "Can these laws ruin them in a way that aligns with public sentiment?"

Minister Byun replied, "The Anti-Corruption Act has the highest possibility," but Kim countered, "The Anti-Corruption Act is difficult to apply because compensation for land has not yet been made, so no profit has been realized."

In response to Democratic Party member Jang Kyung-tae’s question about the need to create a special law for land confiscation with retroactive effect, Minister Byun explained, "Although controversial, we are reviewing whether it is possible to apply retroactive legislation in cases where profits have not been realized."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Byun emphasized that, regardless of the LH employees’ speculation allegations, existing housing supply measures will be carried out without disruption.

He said, "We must not allow this incident to lead to distrust of the entire public sector and push the real estate market back into an unstable situation," adding, "We will steadily implement follow-up measures for supply policies such as the announcement of candidate sites in March, produce tangible results that the public can feel, and secure market trust in expanding housing supply."

In particular, when asked about his determination by Democratic Party member Jo Oh-seop, Minister Byun replied, "I believe we must overcome the problem by thoroughly investigating and rooting out the rotten parts to restore public trust, and for this, I will strongly push forward measures at the risk of my ministerial position."

Regarding a question from People Power Party member Song Seok-jun about his reflections, he said, "During my one year and seven months at LH, I constantly talked about transparency and fairness, but I feel empty because this happened due to my insufficient supervision," adding, "Now that I am at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, I am in a position to manage such institutions, so I believe I bear double responsibility."

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