Police "Complaint Assigned Regarding Yang Hyang-ja Supreme Council Member's Speculation Allegation... Fact-Checking Underway"

"The suspect is not yet at the indictment stage"

Yang Hyang-ja, a Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have begun verifying the facts regarding allegations of real estate speculation involving Yang Hyang-ja, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

A representative from the Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Headquarters) stated on the 26th, "The complaint that was initially submitted to the prosecution has been transferred to the police and is currently assigned to the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency," adding, "Yang has not yet been formally registered as a suspect."

The Action Alliance for Establishing the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) filed a request for investigation with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 12th of this month regarding Yang's speculation allegations. Beopse-ryeon claimed, "The 3,492㎡ forest land purchased by Yang for 475.2 million KRW is a blind land within the Greenbelt, with no adjacent roads and no possibility of building structures. Unless the purpose was speculation for capital gains, there is no reason to buy such useless land at a high price," and added, "We requested an investigation into whether there was a nominee trust for tax evasion purposes during the land purchase process, the source of funds, and any violations of the Special Act on Public Housing."

In response, Yang issued a statement saying, "The land was purchased upon the recommendation of an acquaintance when I was promoted to an executive at Samsung, with the intention of building a country house after retirement and preparing for old age," and refuted, "Since deciding to enter public office, I have attempted to sell the land several times, but due to the lack of transactions, the sales failed. I never aimed for any capital gains."

However, the police explained that the case has not yet been formally converted into an investigation against Yang. A Special Investigation Headquarters official said, "We are in the process of reviewing the contents of the complaint," and added, "Unlike a criminal complaint case, this will be re-examined from the beginning."

The Special Investigation Headquarters also left open the possibility of conducting searches and seizures of the lawmakers involved in the allegations. The official stated, "If necessary procedures arise, they will be considered," and added, "We will need to review each case individually regarding specific charges and the necessity of materials."

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