"Five Real Estate Companies Established by LH Employees, 21.7 Billion Won Speculation"

Gwangmyeong·Siheung 1 Site, Jeonju 1 Site, Seongnam 3 Sites Corporations, Speculation Over 20 Billion KRW
Speculative Acts Under Corporate Names Including Nominee Participation, Land Readjustment, and Pre-purchase of Buildings
No Means to Detect Corporate Speculation in Ministry of Land's Asset Registration and LH Innovation Plan

Allegations have been raised that current and former employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) established real estate development companies and engaged in speculation worth over 20 billion won.

On the 6th, Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party and part of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, analyzed the "Status of LH Speculation Suspicions" received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, and the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency. According to the analysis, there were five cases where current and former LH employees directly held shares or participated in corporations under the names of acquaintances or relatives, with the amount of speculation estimated at approximately 21.79 billion won.

The corporation with the largest amount detected was H Corporation, which earned profits through land readjustment and facility bidding in the Hyocheon District of Jeonju. The speculation amount involved with H Corporation alone reached about 16.79 billion won. H Corporation was established around 2015 in Jeonju, and it is known that 3 to 4 LH employees held shares in it.

When LH employees were involved in the development of the Hyocheon District in Jeonju, they preemptively acquired sports facilities and land in the development site under the name of H Corporation. Operating these facilities to this day, they reportedly earned around 10 billion won in capital gains and facility operation profits over six years.

N Corporation, which purchased land in the 3rd New Towns of Gwangmyeong and Siheung, was also detected. This corporation was established in Jeonju in 2017 by LH employees and an acquaintance lawyer related to the Hyocheon District, and was used as a means for speculative investment in the metropolitan area. Although the police agency revealed the speculation amount as around 400 million won, Kim’s office explained that since the corporation’s purpose includes solar power generation projects, it appears they planned for a surge in land prices through future land-use changes or expropriation.

Three corporations involved in acquiring dozens of houses and officetels by obtaining redevelopment information in advance in the Sujin and Sinheung redevelopment districts of Seongnam were also found to be linked to LH employees. The current market value of properties purchased through these corporations by LH employees and licensed real estate agents exceeds 24 billion won, with the amount related to the corporations estimated at about 4.6 billion won. Since investigations are ongoing in this case, the amount of speculation may increase.

These corporations were commonly operated as limited liability companies, which have no obligation to disclose shareholders or shareholdings and are easy to establish and register, making them easily used for speculative investments under borrowed names. In particular, despite numerous audits and measures announced regarding public officials’ speculation after the LH speculation suspicions surfaced, no investigation has been conducted into employees’ participation in limited liability companies. Kim pointed out that this means the "path of speculation" through limited liability companies remains open at any time.

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