'Gwangmyeong Speculation Allegation' 청 경호처 과장 Summoned... Police Accelerate Investigation

Family Land Purchase in Noonsadong
Incheon Jung-gu Office Official Suspected of Speculation
3 Billion Won Real Estate Seizure Order Issued
Police Report Center Received a Total of 836 Cases

Police Agency building. [Photo by Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police investigating real estate speculation allegations triggered by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) summoned and questioned a senior official of the Blue House Security Office on the 14th.

The Special Investigation Unit for Real Estate Speculation Crimes of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency summoned Mr. A, a senior official of the Blue House Security Office, at 10 a.m. on the same day for questioning.

In September 2017, Mr. A purchased 1,888㎡ of land in Noonsadong, Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi Province, a 3rd New Town area, together with his brother’s spouse and family members. After it was revealed that Mr. A’s brother was a current LH employee, suspicions arose that they might have used insider information to speculate on the land.

Upon learning of this, the Blue House placed Mr. A on standby duty. Earlier, on the 6th, the police conducted searches at four locations including the Blue House Security Office, LH headquarters, and the residences of Mr. A and his brother, securing related materials for analysis. The police are expected to focus their questioning on whether LH internal information was used in the land transactions and what information was exchanged between the brothers.

Investigations into local government heads and others are also intensifying. The police searched Gwangyang City Hall in relation to speculation allegations against Jeong Hyun-bok, former mayor of Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, and are currently analyzing the materials obtained. Mayor Jeong faced conflict of interest controversies as roads were constructed on land owned by him and his children, and development proceeded on land owned by his wife. The case in which the civic group Halbindan filed a complaint against Seong Chang-hyun, mayor of Yongsan District, on the 30th of last month has been assigned to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Applications and approvals for seizure and confiscation preservation to recover criminal proceeds are ongoing. The Special Investigation Unit for Speculation Crimes of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency applied for pre-indictment confiscation preservation on real estate purchased by a Jung-gu district office official using insider information, valued at approximately 336 million KRW at current market prices, and received court approval.

Confiscation preservation prohibits the suspect from disposing of specific assets before a final verdict is reached. It is applied when multiple mortgages or liens are registered on the property making seizure difficult or if the property has already been disposed of, effectively functioning like a civil provisional seizure. So far, the police have obtained court approval for a total of four cases of confiscation preservation amounting to approximately 24 billion KRW. A representative of the Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Headquarters) stated, "We will continue to apply for confiscation preservation during the investigation to recover criminal proceeds."

The ‘Police Reporting Center’ operated by the Special Investigation Headquarters to receive tips related to real estate speculation received 32 additional reports over two days from the 12th to the 13th. Since its opening on the 15th of last month, a total of 863 reports have been received within a month. The Special Investigation Headquarters has assigned about 160 of these cases to the relevant provincial police agencies to verify the facts.

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