[Column] LH-Originated 'War Against Speculation'... Are Retirees the Winners?

Movie Poster of

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sunhee] "Hey, look at this. With that kind of information, what kind of investigation do you think you can conduct?"

This line is from a scene in the movie War on Crime. When I saw the government’s internal investigation results on the land speculation allegations involving Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees on the 11th, this line came to mind, bringing a bitter smile. A sense of emptiness also lingered at the press conference. During Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun’s Thursday briefing, all questions were about LH.

When this incident broke out, the government threatened with all kinds of harsh expressions like “rooting out,” “ruin,” and “war on speculation.” However, the internal investigation only confirmed 7 additional LH employees out of 14,000. The Blue House reported zero, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also reported zero. Who would really believe that? It only deepened the public’s shock, already shaken by scenes of saplings densely planted on speculative land. There was even a joke that “retirees are the ultimate winners” based on the investigation targeting only current public officials.

The result was predictable anyway. Simply checking the real-name transaction records of current public officials cannot detect illegal elements such as borrowed names or unregistered transactions. Which public official would use their real name when secretly speculating using insider information? It seems more accurate to say that those caught in this type of investigation are rather naive.

Illegality is diligent. Malicious speculation must have been carried out much more meticulously and thoroughly. Unless all cases of malicious speculation using the names of spouses, in-laws, or even close acquaintances are uncovered, public anger will not subside. Ultimately, this must be revealed through police investigations.

One group that must not be overlooked is “retirees.” The government’s recent investigation targeted only “current public officials,” and there are self-deprecating voices saying, “Those who were going to make money have already made it and left.” What the government should do now is not a meaningless investigation without enforcement power, but to secure a list of all current and former public officials involved in housing and land affairs and cooperate with investigations.

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