Yangsan City Launches 'Real Estate Speculation' Investigation Targeting Affiliated Public Officials and All Employees of Subordinate Public Institutions

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Yangsan City, Gyeongnam Province, will investigate whether all public officials and executives of affiliated public institutions under Yangsan City have engaged in real estate speculation in large-scale development project sites.

According to Yangsan City on the 17th, to conduct a swift and thorough investigation, a 'Real Estate Speculation Special Investigation Team' led by the Audit Officer will be organized into three teams: the Planning and Coordination Team, the Real Estate Transaction Investigation Team, and the Public Officials Investigation Team, consisting of a total of 10 members.

The Planning and Coordination Team will lead the special investigation, including the composition of investigation teams and selection of investigation targets and scope. The Real Estate Transaction Investigation Team will analyze real estate transaction details related to development projects to determine speculation. The Public Officials Investigation Team will handle investigations of suspected speculative public officials, disciplinary actions, and requests for investigations.

The development sites subject to investigation include the Deokgye Public Support Private Rental Housing Development District, the Gasan General Business Complex Development District, and the Seokgye 2 General Industrial Complex Development District implemented by LH, Gyeongnam Development Corporation, and Special Purpose Corporations (SPC), as well as areas near the planned interchange of the National Road No. 60 (Maeri~Yangsan) construction project conducted by Gyeongsangnam-do and Busan Transportation Corporation, and the station area surrounding the Yangsan Urban Railway (Nopo~Bukjeong) construction project, where speculation will also be checked.

This investigation will accept voluntary reports from city officials and executives of affiliated public institutions until the 31st, and starting from April, a full-scale investigation will be conducted by collecting consent forms for the use of personal information not only from about 1,400 employees but also from their spouses and immediate family members.

Additionally, during the investigation period, a Real Estate Speculation Public Interest Reporting Center will be operated within the Audit Officer’s office to receive voluntary reports related to real estate speculation by public officials as well as citizen tips.

Mayor Kim Il-kwon stated, “As suspicions of speculation by public officials are spreading nationwide, we judged that a preemptive investigation is necessary to establish public service discipline,” and added, “If real estate speculation using insider information by public officials is found based on the investigation results, we will take strong measures with a zero-tolerance policy according to the Anti-Corruption Act and the Public Officials Ethics Act.”

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