War with Real Estate... Hong Nam-ki on LH Scandal: "Strict Punishment for Speculation" (Comprehensive Report 2)

Real Estate Market Inspection Meeting Hosted
"Government Plan Announcement As Soon As Possible"
System to Detect Similar Attempts Also Established

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyunjung and Jang Sehee] On the 12th, Hong Namgi, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, announced that regarding the speculation allegations involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), the government will prepare measures to prevent recurrence as soon as possible, including recovering more than just penalties and unjust gains. A system capable of immediate detection in case of similar attempts will also be established.

On the same day, Hong presided over the ‘Real Estate Market Inspection Meeting of Related Ministers’ at the Government Seoul Office and emphasized, "We must completely eradicate the roots of illegal and unfair practices to heal the wounds of the people and restore trust," adding, "We will prepare and announce government plans as quickly as possible." The government plans to specifically discuss ▲preemptive measures against speculation and illegal/unfair acts, △a system to ensure detection if such acts are attempted, ▲strict punishment as a deterrent once detected, and ▲recovery measures to reclaim illegal and unjust gains beyond penalties.

He continued, "Since LH, which triggered this incident, has lost much of the public’s trust, a transformative change is necessary," and stated, "We will promptly prepare strong innovation plans to enable LH to faithfully perform its original functions such as housing supply and to be reborn as a public institution." However, regarding market concerns that the implementation of supply measures announced by the government so far may become difficult due to this large-scale corruption scandal in a public institution, he repeatedly emphasized a ‘flawless plan.’

Hong said, "Real estate policies, including the February 4 housing supply plan, will be carried out smoothly according to the already announced plans and schedules," and added, "Regarding urban development projects, based on business briefings for 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, we will select candidate sites with excellent project conditions through recommendations from local governments and others, and disclose them by the end of March." He further stated, "The remaining new public land sites for 150,000 households will be announced in April, and the pre-sale schedule for the 3rd new town planned for July will proceed as planned regardless of the progress of related investigations and prosecutions."

The government plans to investigate local government officials and public institution employees other than LH in addition to the first investigation, and the Joint Special Investigation Headquarters will investigate allegations of speculation involving their spouses, direct relatives, and proxy names.

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