"I Won't Give My Information"... Difficulties Foreseen in Investigating Families of LH Employees

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] The government has launched a large-scale full investigation to probe allegations of land speculation in the 3rd phase new towns, but many family members of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees are showing reluctance to the use of their personal information, raising concerns about the investigation's effectiveness. Consent from the individuals is essential to determine land ownership in the relevant areas.

According to the government joint investigation team (Joint Team) on the 10th, the Joint Team is collecting consent forms for the use of personal information from spouses and direct lineal ascendants and descendants of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and LH employees by this day. Consent collection from the employees themselves showed 99.9% agreement from MOLIT and 99.6% from LH. Currently, it is understood that 12 people, including one MOLIT employee and 11 LH employees, have refused to consent to the use of their personal information.

The problem is that investigating speculation among employees' family members is likely to face more difficulties than initially expected. Many family members are reluctant to submit consent forms. While some may refuse the investigation by exploiting the fact that land speculation cannot be examined without consent, many feel significant discomfort with the idea that investigative agencies are accessing their personal information. One LH employee’s family member said, "I feel uneasy being suddenly asked to submit my resident registration number," adding, "I have never bought land anywhere, but I do not intend to submit the consent form."

Most employees have submitted consent forms since the government has stated that refusal to cooperate may lead to investigation requests or personnel disadvantages, but the situation is different for family members. Since there are no significant disadvantages for refusing to submit, if a large number of them refuse to submit consent forms, the government’s investigation could end up being only partial.

The Joint Team expanded the investigation targets to include family members and spouses, judging that they are more likely to be involved in speculation than the employees themselves, but if they refuse to provide information, it is difficult to even secure basic data to determine speculation allegations. This has led to criticism that the government’s investigation method has clear limitations. Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, said at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee meeting the day before, "This kind of investigation cannot get to the truth," and added, "From the beginning, a thorough investigation focusing on landowners, including the possibility of nominee transactions, should have been conducted."

Meanwhile, the Joint Team is verifying whether the investigation targets who submitted consent forms have purchased land in the 3rd phase new towns, Gwacheon district, and Ansan Jangsang district by entering their names and resident registration numbers into the Real Estate Transaction Management System (RTMS). The Joint Team plans to request an investigation by the joint special investigation headquarters centered on the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters for employees found to have transaction records.

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