Gimhae City Conducts Full Investigation into Real Estate Speculation Using Internal Information of LH Development Areas

Direct Family Members of Construction Officials and Affiliated Agency Employees' Transactions from 5 Years Ago

Targets Include Heungdong Advanced Industrial Complex, Jinrye New Stay, Seogimhae General Industrial Complex, and 5 Other Locations

Gyeongnam Gimhae City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Amid the escalating controversy over real estate speculation allegations involving LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation) employees, Gimhae City in Gyeongnam has decided to launch a full-scale investigation into real estate transactions within the development areas by its employees, including those in affiliated organizations.

Gimhae City has decided to take a proactive approach to the nationwide spread of real estate speculation allegations. All real estate related to development projects such as industrial complexes and large-scale housing site developments are subject to investigation.

On the 14th, Gimhae City announced that it will begin an internal investigation to verify whether employees and their families have engaged in real estate transactions using insider information.

The development sites under investigation include Heungdong Advanced Industrial Complex, Jinrye New Stay, Seogimhae General Industrial Complex, Eobang District Urban Development Project, and Jangyu Rear Residential Complex, totaling five locations.

These projects are implemented by LH, Gyeongnam Development Corporation, and Gimhae City Urban Development Corporation. For designated project areas, real estate transaction records from five years prior to the designation date will be thoroughly reviewed, and for projects in planning stages, records from five years prior to the current date will be examined.

The investigation will accept voluntary reports from city officials and employees of affiliated organizations until the 31st. It will be conducted ex officio for public officials at grade 5 or higher, employees in relevant departments, as well as their spouses and immediate family members, who will be required to submit consent forms for the use of personal information.

Gimhae City will form an internal investigation team of 7 to 8 members led by the auditor, and the full-scale investigation will commence in April.

Mayor Heo Seong-gon of Gimhae City stated, “If any suspicious matters are identified during the investigation, we will respond strongly by requesting investigations and filing charges in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act and the Public Officials Ethics Act.”

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