Numerous Public Officials Own Land Near Yongin Semiconductor Cluster

Denial of "Speculation Involvement"

The area around Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the semiconductor cluster industrial complex will be established

Amid growing speculation of speculation surrounding the semiconductor cluster general industrial complex project site in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, multiple cases have been confirmed where high-ranking public officials own land near the development site.

According to the '2021 Public Officials' Regular Property Change Disclosure Data' released by the Government Public Officials Ethics Committee on the 25th, it was revealed that Yoon Joo-hyun, the director of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, has two children who own land in the Jukneung-ri area of Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si. Each owns 1,206㎡, with a total land value of 37 million KRW.

The Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is a project to establish a next-generation memory production base on 4.16 million㎡ in the Wonsam-myeon area of Cheoin-gu, with a project cost of 1.7903 trillion KRW. Since the second half of 2018, when SK Hynix was reported to invest about 122 trillion KRW here, land prices have surged by 30 to 40%.

There are also many confirmed cases of land ownership adjacent to this area.

Lee Nam-gu, Secretary for Public Service Discipline at the Blue House, owns 311㎡ of farmland and 400㎡ of residential land in Baegam-myeon, which borders Wonsam-myeon. The total land value is 101.385 million KRW. Lee Dong-hee, President of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation, owns 10 plots in Seokcheon-ri, Baegam-myeon under his name and 2 plots in Bakgok-ri, Baegam-myeon under his spouse's name.

Members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly and their spouses were also found to own land near the planned development site. Assemblyman Jin Yong-bok and his wife, Ms. A, jointly purchased about 3,820㎡ of land in the Muk-ri area of Yongin-si in March 2018 for 690 million KRW. This is about 6 km away from the semiconductor cluster planned site. As of January last year, the official land price (81,355 KRW per 3.3㎡) had risen nearly 40% compared to the 2018 official land price (59,200 KRW) when the land was purchased. Assemblyman Kim Yong-chan owns 11,479㎡ of land worth approximately 437.72 million KRW in the Baegam-myeon area.

It was also confirmed that the spouse of Assemblywoman Han Young-shin of Chungnam Provincial Assembly owns 1,313.8㎡ of land worth about 103.76 million KRW in Dokseong-ri and Jukneung-ri, Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si.

In the National Assembly, it was found that Ms. A, the wife of Democratic Party lawmaker Byun Jae-il (Cheongju Cheongwon), owns 1,249.2㎡ of land out of 277,530㎡ in the Jukneung-ri area of Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu.

The Yongin Semiconductor Cluster was confirmed as the project site in Wonsam-myeon on March 29, 2019, and a public notice for resident inspection was conducted. However, for the past three years, maps containing the boundaries and land use plans of the planned project site have circulated in the market, raising suspicions of speculation using this information.

The parties involved claim they are unrelated to speculation.

The side of Director Yoon explained that the land was gifted to his grandson and granddaughter by Yoon’s mother-in-law, who purchased it over 30 years ago, and that the gift was made in 2010, well before the semiconductor cluster development project was promoted.

The Blue House stated that Secretary Lee inherited the land from his father in July 2017. It was also added that the area is a clan village of Secretary Lee’s father, and the land has been farmed for generations.

Assemblyman Jin of Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly denied any connection to speculation, saying, "I built a house in 2019 and have been living there since January last year."

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