Prime Minister Jeong: "LH Scandal as an Opportunity for a Fair and Transparent Society... Engraving 'Musinbullip' in Our Hearts"

The 12th Cabinet Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (left) is speaking while presiding over a Cabinet meeting held via video connection with Seoul at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 23rd. March 23, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 23rd regarding the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal, "We are striving to eradicate real estate speculation and to make this an opportunity to become a fairer and more transparent society," adding, "I am deeply reminded of the phrase 'Mu-shin-bul-rip (無信不立),' meaning a country cannot stand without the trust of its people, and I will steadfastly keep the promises made to the public."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Chung presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "The government is responding with all means permitted by law and regulations regarding speculation allegations involving public institution executives and employees." He also urged, "The government joint special investigation headquarters should conduct thorough and swift investigations without limiting the targets or regions to clearly identify the speculation allegations."

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "We are also promoting innovative institutional improvements to prevent illegal speculation attempts using development information from taking root," adding, "We will strengthen the monitoring system over the public service sector and establish a strong control system that ensures not only the prevention of real estate speculation but also the recovery of unjust profits." He further stated, "Legislation to prevent recurrence, such as the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, will be promptly pursued in cooperation with the National Assembly," and added, "We will carry out rigorous reforms so that LH can regain public trust and faithfully perform its original functions."

While the government emphasizes 'reforms at the level of dismantling' for LH, it draws a line against the proposal to split it into the Land Corporation and Housing Corporation raised by some quarters. On the 19th at the National Assembly, Prime Minister Chung dismissed this by saying, "(LH) has integrated the functions of land development and housing construction into one," and "We are not considering dismantling that." However, he hinted at partial functional separation by stating, "If LH holds excessively broad authority or becomes bloated, causing inefficiency or side effects, those aspects should be corrected through reform and innovation."

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