Mandatory Real Estate Transaction Reporting for Civil Servants and Public Institution Employees 추진

Government Task Force Activated... Real Estate-Related Work by Public Officials Below Grade 5 Also Subject to Reporting
Third Parties Involved in Illegal Activities Outside Public Officials Also Under Review for Punishment... Announcement Expected Within This Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The government is pushing to establish a system that combines real estate registration and reporting requirements for public officials and employees of public institutions related to real estate policies, following the speculative investment scandal involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

According to the government on the 14th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Financial Services Commission, National Tax Service, National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Financial Supervisory Service have formed a task force (TF) and begun preparing measures to eradicate speculation.

The anti-speculation measures are expected to be announced as early as this month. The measures focus on four areas: prevention, detection, punishment, and recovery of illicit gains. To prevent and detect speculation, the government is considering simultaneously implementing a real estate registration system and a reporting system. Currently, the obligation to register assets applies to public officials at grade 4 or higher, but for those involved in real estate policies, the scope would be expanded to include public officials at grade 5 or lower and all employees of public institutions. The reporting system would require public officials and employees of public institutions related to real estate policies to voluntarily report to their heads of institutions every time they engage in real estate transactions.

Strengthening punishment and recovery of illicit gains will apply not only to the public sector but also to illegal transactions in the private sector. There is discussion of recovering up to five times the illicit gains obtained through illegal transactions. On the 12th, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated at a meeting of ministers monitoring the real estate market, "We will recover more than that amount regarding illicit gains."

The government is also expected to consider measures to punish third parties who participate in illegal activities by receiving information from public officials and employees of public institutions involved in such speculation and other illegal acts.

Separately from the measures prepared by the government, related legislation is actively being discussed in the National Assembly. Proposed bills include amendments to the Public Officials Ethics Act to expand the scope of asset registration obligations, amendments to the Special Act on Public Housing to punish leaks of information related to public housing by recovering up to five times the acquisition benefits, and amendments to the LH Act to prohibit LH employees from using undisclosed information.

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