Jin-tae Kim, "Alpensia Fire Sale Is Gangwon-do's Hwacheon Daeyu"... Raises Suspicion of 'Bid Rigging'

KH Group, "Cannot Accept Low-Price Sale, Allegations of Favoritism Are Mere Speculation"

Chairman Jin-tae Kim Holds Press Conference Alleging Bid Rigging in the Low-Price Sale of Alpensia Resort [Photo by Young-chul Ra]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the People Power Party Chuncheon Gap Party Member Council, raised suspicions of bid collusion regarding the undervalued sale of Alpensia, calling it the "'Gangwon-do version of Hwacheon Daeyu'."

On the 27th, Chairman Kim held a press conference at the Gangwon Provincial Government Office and stated, "The successful bidder in the auction is KH Gangwon Development, and the other bidders are known to be affiliates of the KH Group," adding, "Although there are formally two bidders, in reality, only the KH Group participated in the bidding."

He continued, "For a bid to be valid, there must be multiple parties involved. If, as in this case, it was effectively a single bid disguised as a competitive auction, it constitutes a typical case of bid collusion that undermines the fairness of the bidding process," citing Supreme Court precedents as the basis.

He further stated, "This not only constitutes unfair trade practices under the Fair Trade Act but also likely falls under the criminal offense of bid interference under the Criminal Act," and added, "If this were not serious, why would the Fair Trade Commission and the police under this administration have launched an investigation?" expressing suspicion.

Chairman Kim also pointed out, "Governor Choi Moon-soon is attempting to sell 350,000 pyeong of idle land, including provincial land around the Alpensia Resort, to the KH Group, the successful bidder, at prices lower than market value."

He said, "Governor Choi Moon-soon has also announced plans to sell sports facilities within the Alpensia area (such as the ski jump tower and cross-country skiing facilities)," and criticized the governor's management of public land, saying, "These sports facilities alone are worth 200 billion KRW on the market, but they are trying to sell them for 30 to 40 billion KRW, which is an unprecedented special favor."

He added, "By selling the sports facilities to a specific company called KH with a discount of 100 billion KRW, and additionally selling provincial land at 200 billion KRW below market price, they are attempting to grant special favors worth at least 300 billion KRW."

Chairman Kim particularly expressed deep concern, saying, "KH Group recently acquired the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel but put it up for sale after just two years," and added, "There are worries about how KH will finance the acquisition of Alpensia, and even if they acquire it, there is uncertainty about when they might put it back on the market."

Pyeongchang Alpensia Stadium and Resort [Gangwon-do]

He also said, "This is very similar to the Seongnam Daejang-dong corruption scandal, where Hwacheon Daeyu was created and special favors worth 500 billion KRW were concentrated," and urged, "Governor Choi Moon-soon should clarify whether he knew that KH Group Chairman Bae is currently on probation for stock manipulation."

He pressured, "If this sale is recognized as unfair trade practice or bid interference, are you willing to take full responsibility and resign?" and urged, "The Fair Trade Commission and the police should recognize the seriousness of this situation and conduct a strict investigation and inquiry."

Earlier, the Gangwon Peace Economy Research Institute also issued a statement on the 23rd demanding that "the truth must be revealed without a single doubt" regarding the Fair Trade Commission and Gangwon Police Agency's investigation into suspected collusion in the sale of the Pyeongchang Alpensia Resort.

Additionally, in July, they requested an investigation by the Fair Trade Commission, and in August, they also requested an investigation by the Gangwon Police Agency.

In response, the KH Group stated, "We cannot accept the undervalued sale," and added, "The special favor allegations are speculative claims only. We will take responsibility if there is anything to be held accountable based on the results of the Fair Trade Commission's investigation and police inquiry."

Meanwhile, Gangwon Province poured about 1.6 trillion KRW into the Alpensia Resort, aiming to host the 2005 Pyeongchang Olympics, but after failing to sell it four years later, it fell into astronomical debt.

Since then, when the Alpensia Resort was successfully bid on by KH Group's special purpose company KH Gangwon Development Co., Ltd. for 711.5 billion KRW in the June auction, allegations of special favors have continued to arise.

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