Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon Proposes Bill for Real Estate Speculation 'Tracking, Punishment, and Recovery'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A bill to track, punish, and recover profits from real estate speculation during the development of public housing districts has been proposed.

The bill, jointly proposed by National Assembly member Lee Byung-hoon (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul), includes a 'Criminal Act Amendment' that punishes current and former employees of public institutions for leaking or using confidential information obtained through their duties, and a 'Public Housing Special Act Amendment' that specifies the legal basis for a full-scale investigation of real estate transactions in housing districts and surrounding areas.

The Criminal Act Amendment adds 'employees or former employees of public institutions' such as LH Corporation as subjects under Article 127 on the crime of official secret leakage. In addition to punishing the act of 'leaking' confidential information obtained through official duties, it also includes the act of 'using' such information for financial gain. A new clause has been established to confiscate all financial gains obtained by leaking or using confidential information.

The Public Housing Special Act Amendment explicitly provides the legal basis for the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to conduct a full-scale investigation of real estate transactions within public housing districts and adjacent areas during the development of public housing districts. The scope of the investigation covers all land parcels within 3 kilometers of the boundary of the public housing district and adjacent parcels.

The reference date for the real estate transactions subject to the full-scale investigation is the completion of the construction inspection. Transactions conducted within 10 years prior to the completion of the housing district construction inspection are subject to the investigation.

According to data received by Assembly member Lee from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, medium-scale housing district development projects of less than 1 million square meters typically take about 8 to 10 years from the announcement of district designation to the completion of construction inspection. Considering this, if this law passes, a full-scale investigation can be conducted on all real estate transactions made around the announcement of public housing districts.

The amendment also includes provisions to request investigations for transactions suspected of speculation based on the full-scale investigation results and to confiscate or recover all profits obtained from violations of the law.

Assembly member Lee stated, “Public enterprises like LH Corporation have a strong public nature, and if transparency and fairness are not guaranteed, their reason for existence is lost,” adding, “It is necessary to prevent public officials’ 'dereliction of duty' through institutional measures to prevent similar cases like the LH scandal.”

He emphasized, “The bill also includes measures to correct past irregularities through non-retroactive legislation that can be applied retroactively to investigate real estate speculation in public housing districts already in operation, punish illegal acts, and recover profits.”

If the Criminal Act Amendment passes, not only public officials but also current and former employees of most public institutions will be subject to the law.

Comprehensive and general regulatory provisions will be established to address acts of private gain through leaking or using confidential information by current and former employees of many public institutions newly established or reorganized due to policy needs.

In the case of the Public Housing Special Act Amendment, by establishing the legal basis for a substantive full-scale investigation of real estate transactions related to public housing district development projects, it is expected that the fairness and transparency of public land development policies, which have been facing public distrust, will be strengthened.

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