President Moon, who came to power pledging fairness, faces concerns over losing political momentum amid the LH scandal (Comprehensive)

Minbyun and People's Solidarity Allegation Exposure Leads to President's Official Apology in 2 Weeks... "A Turning Point for Clearing Real Estate Corruption and Advancing a Fair Society"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in's official apology two weeks after the real estate speculation scandal involving current and former employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) erupted is interpreted as a measure reflecting the sense of crisis that this incident could lead to a loss of momentum in national governance during the remainder of his term.

On the 16th, at the Cabinet meeting, President Moon said, "I feel that the road ahead is still long due to the recent LH real estate speculation suspicion incident." Following the Blue House senior secretaries and aides meeting the previous day, he once again emphasized efforts toward a fair society by mentioning the term 'Candlelight Revolution' on this day as well.

The Moon Jae-in administration had aimed to eradicate corruption and unfairness but failed to overcome the wall of real estate speculation. President Moon stated, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, all public institutions must reflect on their public responsibilities and duties and use this as a chance for fundamental reform," emphasizing, "The starting point is to establish public service ethics." This implies the necessity of reform across all public institutions, including LH.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, President Moon defined real estate speculation as the most important root of unfairness in our society, emphasizing, "If we clear out the deep-rooted real estate corruption, it will be a turning point for our country to move toward a more transparent and fair society." He also appealed to the public to unite their will together.

Although President Moon expressed his determination to eradicate real estate corruption, it remains to be seen whether the expected momentum in national governance can be secured. Criticism regarding the initial response to the LH incident is also a point to reconsider. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum is effectively undergoing a dismissal process, but the cold public sentiment is not easily recovering.

President Moon said, "I hope that ministries managing public institutions, such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, will significantly strengthen the weight of public interest and ethical management in the public institution management evaluation," adding, "Even individual public officials must be held strictly accountable for deviations from public service ethics."

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