LH Employee "Why Only Us... Even Democratic Party Politicians Speculate, It's So Unfair"

Photo by Screenshot of a post from the anonymous employee community 'Blind'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Amid ongoing controversies over allegations of land speculation by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) related to the 3rd New Town development, on the 10th, a netizen presumed to be an LH employee claimed to be wronged, stating, "I have seen several instances where politicians from the Democratic Party of Korea requested information from our side and speculated."

On that day, an anonymous post titled "A Very Wronged LH Employee's Post" was uploaded on the workplace anonymous community 'Blind.' The author, presumed to be an LH employee, said, "I feel very wronged. I don't understand why only we are being targeted," and added, "Honestly, from what I've heard inside the company, politicians and lawmakers have benefited far more than our company's senior officials."

He continued, "Especially politicians from the Democratic Party of Korea have requested information from our side and speculated several times," and claimed, "In my opinion, it seems like they are deliberately diverting attention by only attacking LH."

As the post spread mainly through online communities, voices calling for a thorough investigation into the political circles also emerged.

Yang Eon-yeong, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

In particular, controversy arose recently when it was confirmed that the mother of Yang Yi-won-young, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, purchased land near Gahak-dong, Gwangmyeong, a planned site for the 3rd New Town, in 2019. According to the high-ranking public officials' property disclosure report submitted to the National Assembly on the 9th, Ms. Lee, the mother of lawmaker Yang, purchased a 66㎡ (about 20 pyeong) shared ownership portion of a 2,850-pyeong plot at San 42, Gahak-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, in August 2019.

In response, lawmaker Yang issued a statement saying, "I was not aware that (my mother) owned the said forest land until the LH incident," and added, "We have decided to dispose of the forest land and other real estate she owns. I apologize to the citizens who are angry about the LH incident."

On the afternoon of the 9th, Gyeonggi Gwangmyeong Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Gwangmyeong Siheung Project Headquarters. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, posts by individuals presumed to be LH employees on online communities continue daily, fueling public outrage.

On the 9th, another presumed LH employee mocked the 3rd New Town speculation allegations, saying, "It will be forgotten in a month or two. If you're jealous, just change jobs," and "Even if you dig, everything is done under borrowed names, so how would you find anything?" He added, "No matter how much the public rages, I will continue to work comfortably until retirement while speculating under borrowed names."

On the 8th, when farmers and civic groups angry over the speculation allegations held a protest and press conference in front of LH's headquarters in Jinju, Gyeongnam, an LH employee was criticized for dismissive behavior, saying, "It's on the 28th floor, so I can't hear anything," and calling it "gaekkul" (a slang term meaning 'awesome' or 'great').

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will announce the results of the first full-scale investigation into land transactions related to the 3rd New Town involving about 20,000 LH employees on the 11th. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun will present the first full investigation results of the government joint investigation team at 2:30 p.m. on the 11th at the Government Seoul Office joint briefing room. The investigation team plans to hand over the results to the 'Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters' established at the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters.

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