Jeju Autonomous Police Unit Arrests Large Number of Real Estate Speculators at Site of Planned 2nd Airport

Special Investigation Unit Conducts 40-Day Drone Search, Tracking Monitoring, and On-Site Investigation in Seongsan-eup Area and Surroundings
Illegal Activities Detected at 11 Sites and 29 Plots Including Land Price Increase, Conservation Area Developm

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] Illegal real estate speculation activities have been massively uncovered in the planned site and surrounding areas of the Jeju Second Airport construction project.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Autonomous Police Unit (Chief Go Chang-kyung) announced on the 11th that from April 22 to May 31, a special investigation team was formed for 40 days to conduct a large-scale investigation on real estate in the Seongsan-eup area and nearby, resulting in the detection of illegal development activities on 29 parcels across 11 locations.

Regarding charges such as habitual speculation, development in conservation areas, and damage to public land, arrest warrants were requested for 4 individuals, and 9 were sent for prosecution without detention.

A, the representative of an agricultural corporation who habitually damaged forests for the purpose of land price increase (male, 58 years old), is suspected of violating the Mountainous District Management Act, among others. B, a former real estate broker (male, 80 years old), is accused of violating the Jeju Special Act by attempting to construct neighborhood living facilities in a relatively conserved area where construction activities are restricted.

C (male, 57 years old), who illegally developed mountainous land for speculation purposes, and D (male, 68 years old), a forestry technician, were also subject to arrest warrant requests on charges of violating the Mountainous District Management Act.

Nine individuals, including 8 who unlawfully occupied public land or damaged forests and 1 agricultural corporation representative, were sent for prosecution without detention.

In particular, since the announcement of the Second Airport planned site in November 2015, the entire Seongsan-eup area of Seogwipo City was designated and announced as a "Land Transaction Permit Zone," requiring submission of a forest management plan for planting landscaping trees or forest products to obtain land transaction permission. However, two cases were confirmed where forest management was not actually conducted despite obtaining permission, and administrative measures or enforcement fines were notified through the administrative city.

Additionally, 7 cases of speculation activities inducing land price increases were uncovered. Five cases of unauthorized occupation of public land as if it were personal property were also confirmed and will be shared with relevant departments for action.

This investigation began after it was revealed that some employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) were involved in real estate speculation, leading to concerns that speculation and development activities aimed at land price increases might also occur in the Second Airport planned site and its surroundings.

The Autonomous Police Unit, in cooperation with Jeju City and Seogwipo City, formed a special investigation team of 17 members across 4 squads, conducting precise searches of suspected forest damage areas using high-resolution drones.

They also conducted monitoring by tracking annual changes in forest shapes in mountainous and conservation areas using spatial information systems, and carried out joint on-site investigations with permit departments and surveying companies to calculate damage areas.

Go Chang-kyung, Chief of the Autonomous Police Unit of Jeju Province, stated, "After conducting a large-scale investigation over about 40 days on the Second Airport planned site and adjacent areas, uncovering numerous cases of speculation and illegal development, we plan to extend the special investigation period to continue investigating real estate speculation or collusion suspicions. We will utilize various investigative techniques such as drone searches, aerial photo comparisons, intelligence gathering, and field investigations to conduct thorough investigations to resolve real estate speculation suspicions throughout the province."

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