SH·GH Also to Forfeit Public Officials' Speculative Gains... Proposed by Assemblyman Han Byung-do

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] A bill is being promoted to restrict real estate transactions using non-public information in the course of duty for local public enterprises engaged in real estate work, such as Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) and Gyeonggi Housing and Communities Corporation (GH).

On the 5th, Han Byung-do, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, introduced the "Local Public Enterprises Act," which confiscates and punishes property gains of local public enterprise employees using insider information. Although some local public enterprises currently handle real estate-related tasks similar to LH, there were no regulatory measures to prevent incidents like the recent LH scandal.

Accordingly, the amendment allows the major anti-speculation measures of the "Korea Land and Housing Corporation Act," revised at the plenary session in March, to be applied equally to the "Local Public Enterprises Act."

First, to prevent real estate speculation by executives and employees of local public enterprises in charge of real estate-related work, the amendment requires the heads of the relevant local governments to regularly investigate the real estate transactions of these executives and employees and report the investigation results to the competent Public Officials Ethics Committee.

Additionally, a compliance officer system may be established to monitor whether illegal or unfair transactions or speculative acts have been conducted using development information during the promotion of public development projects.

In particular, it prohibits the disclosure or use of non-public information learned in the course of duty for real estate transactions, and violators may face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine ranging from three to five times the profits gained from the violation. The amendment also provides grounds for confiscation and recovery of property gains obtained through the use of non-public information.

Representative Han Byung-do emphasized, "It is necessary to establish a tight regulatory network to prevent a 'second LH scandal' from occurring in any institution responsible for real estate work," adding, "We will take this incident as a lesson and make every effort to establish a clean public service society."

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