Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok Orders Comprehensive Investigation into Public Officials' Speculation Cases

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, has ordered a full investigation into whether public officials engaged in land speculation.

Jeonnam Province announced on the 18th that it will conduct a full investigation into land speculation related to 11 urban development project districts targeting public officials by June.

This full investigation will be conducted on about 2,500 people, including provincial public officials and employees of Jeonnam Development Corporation.

They plan to verify real estate transaction details for the three years prior to the designation of the 11 urban development project districts.

Considering the statute of limitations of seven years under relevant laws such as the “Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act,” the investigation period has been set from 2014 to the present in 2021.

For the investigation, an investigation task force will be formed under the supervision of the Provincial Audit Office, with cooperation from the General Affairs Division (Personnel), Land Management Division (Land Transactions), and Regional Planning Division (Urban Planning).

Consent forms for the use of personal information will be obtained from the investigation subjects, and land transaction details will be cross-checked and intensively analyzed by urban development project district to identify suspected speculators.

Additionally, a voluntary reporting center will be operated until the end of this month for public officials who conducted land transactions in the relevant districts.

If any illegal acts or wrongdoing by public officials are revealed through this investigation, the case will be referred to judicial authorities for investigation under the “Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act” and the “Public Officials Ethics Act” to thoroughly uncover suspicions of real estate speculation.

Investigations of city and county public officials are recommended to be conducted by the respective mayors and county heads through their own plans, and close cooperation with the Jeonnam Police Agency (Real Estate Speculation Investigation Unit) will ensure thorough investigation.

Governor Kim said, “Through this investigation, we aim to enhance the trust and transparency of Jeonnam Province public officials toward residents and contribute to improving integrity,” adding, “We also plan to review institutional improvements to prevent land speculation by public officials in the future.”

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