Near New Town Land Boom, Ruling Party's Seo Young-seok and Kim Ju-young Say "Not for Speculation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Amid a series of speculation allegations involving Democratic Party lawmakers, the lawmakers in question are denying the accusations.

On the 12th, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Ju-young issued a statement titled "Regarding the Purchase of Land in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do by My Father," stating, "In September 2019, my father, who is over ninety years old, purchased the land for the retirement of my second brother, who is disabled and unable to support himself." He added, "I became aware of the land purchase during the public official asset registration process when I took office in June last year. Although I was not aware of the purpose and circumstances of the purchase beforehand, I apologize to the citizens who are distressed due to the LH incident."

The land is a 495㎡ (150 pyeong) forest area located in Namyang-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, near 'Namyang New Town.' Lawmaker Kim stated, "The acquisition price at the time was 88.5 million KRW. The current official land price is 82,000 KRW per square meter, making the purchase share amount about 40 million KRW." He added, "It is located more than 1 km in a straight line from the Namyang New Town area and about 3 km by road, so it is outside the project area."

He further said, "Since the buyer has not come forward, the land has not been disposed of. I will consult with my father and dispose of the land as soon as possible."

Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-seok, representing Bucheon-si Jeong district in Gyeonggi Province, was also revealed to have purchased land of 438.5㎡ and a neighborhood living facility of 175.5㎡ in Gojang-dong, Bucheon-si, in August 2015. This location is near the Bucheon Daejang district, which is included in the 3rd New Town development plan announced in 2019.

Lawmaker Seo also denied speculation allegations, stating that the land is unrelated to the 3rd New Town, is located at a distance, and that there has been no price change since the designation of the new town.

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