Hong Nam-ki: "LH Scandal Involves Large-Scale Group Loans from Banks... Financial Supervisory Service to Conduct Thorough Investigation" (Update)

Comprehensive Survey of Financial Institutions Handling Land-Backed Loans in Nearby Areas
"Proceeding Regardless of Investigation Status on the 2·4 Housing Supply Plan"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated regarding the speculation allegations involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), "I hope the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) thoroughly investigates how the loans were possible and whether there were any illegal, improper, or negligent actions during the loan process."

On the 12th, at the 16th Real Estate Market Inspection Meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex, Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "The LH speculation incident was possible because large-scale loans were collectively made at specific bank branches." Accordingly, the FSS plans to investigate not only NongHyup but also all financial institutions handling land-secured loans in the surrounding areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong added, "Since LH has lost a great deal of public trust, a fundamental transformation is absolutely necessary," and stated, "We will promptly prepare strong innovation measures to ensure LH reemerges as a public institution faithfully performing its core functions such as housing supply."

The government also plans to accelerate discussions on related laws concerning this incident. Hong said, "Regarding the LH incident, bills related to real estate such as speculation prevention, strengthened penalties, and measures to prevent recurrence are actively being discussed in the National Assembly," and added, "We will speed up the review of matters directly related to legal amendments among the government's discussions."

The government announced it will also proceed without delay with the February 4 housing supply plan. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We plan to select excellent candidate sites related to urban development projects and disclose them by the end of March," and added, "The remaining new public land sites, totaling about 150,000 housing units, will be announced in April after thorough preparation and verification." He further stated, "The pre-sale schedule for the 3rd new town, planned for July, will proceed as scheduled regardless of the progress of investigations and inquiries."

Meanwhile, the meeting focused on ▲ follow-up measures for the February 4 housing supply plan ▲ measures to eradicate speculation and prevent recurrence related to the LH incident.

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