Prosecution and Police to Discuss Cooperation Plan Tomorrow on 'LH Land Speculation Allegations' Investigation

On the afternoon of the 9th, the Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency completed a search and seizure related to the 'LH Employees' New Town Speculation Allegations' at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Gwangmyeong-Siheung Project Headquarters in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and is moving the seized items.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Regarding the investigation into the speculation allegations involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and others related to the 3rd New Town development, the police and prosecution will come together to discuss cooperation measures for the investigation.

According to the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) on the 10th, Choi Seung-ryeol, Director of the NIH Investigation Bureau, and Lee Jong-geun, Head of the Criminal Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, will hold a working-level meeting of investigative agencies at the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 11th.

The NIH explained that this meeting is a follow-up consultation to the inter-agency meeting held on the same day, presided over by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

Earlier, Prime Minister Chung convened an emergency inter-agency meeting and emphasized, "The entire judicial process from investigation and prosecution to indictment and maintenance of the public prosecution must proceed without any gaps," adding, "Organic communication and coordination between the police and prosecution are of utmost importance."

In previous investigations into speculation allegations related to the 1st and 2nd New Town developments, the prosecution acted as the control tower; however, in the case of the 3rd New Town speculation allegations, the police are leading the investigation following the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution.

The Special Investigation Unit for Real Estate Speculation Offenders, which was established within the NIH, has been elevated to the "Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters" (Joint Investigation Headquarters). The Joint Investigation Headquarters is composed of 770 personnel from 18 metropolitan and provincial police agencies, with Nam Gu-jun, Director of the NIH, serving as the Special Investigation Headquarters Chief. The investigation is organized into a general team led by the Investigation Bureau Director as the Investigation Unit Chief, an incident analysis team, a fund analysis team, and a cooperation support team. A reporting center for expanding the investigation into speculation allegations will also be operated.

Personnel will also be dispatched from the National Tax Service and the Financial Services Commission. While the exact number of dispatched personnel is still being coordinated, it is expected to be approximately 20 from the National Tax Service, 5 to 6 from the Financial Services Commission, and 5 to 6 from the Speculation Analysis Institute under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The police anticipate that the inclusion of personnel from the National Tax Service and Financial Services Commission will facilitate rapid data acquisition, including tax data analysis and tracing the sources of funds. The prosecution will not dispatch personnel separately but will cooperate organically for warrant requests, indictment, and maintenance of prosecution.

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