[Exclusive] Nam Wook, Why Did He Buy a 2-Pyeong Daejangdong Land Amid 'Self-Compensation' Suspicion?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Hwacheon Daeyu, Land Compensation Work

Effectively Compensated Own Land

More Likely for Resident Persuasion Than Speculative Investment

Possibility of Ownership to Facilitate Resident Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporters Jo Gangwook, Kim Dongpyo] It has been revealed that Nam Wook, a key figure in the special favor allegations surrounding the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, is the landowner of the Daejang-dong land compensated by the project operator ‘Seongnam Eutteul.’ The land area Nam owned was only 7㎡ (2.1 pyeong), drawing attention to the purpose behind his purchase of this land.

On the 6th, Asia Economy analyzed the land register from the compensation plan announced in April 2016 by Seongnam Urban Development Corporation for the Seongnam Daejang-dong and 1st Industrial Complex combined urban development project. According to the analysis, the owner of the land at 96-6 Daejang-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, was named ‘Nam Wook.’ Further investigation of the Suwon District Court registry confirmed that the owner was indeed Nam Wook himself.

At that time, he solely owned land classified as ‘Dae (垈·site)’ with a registered area of 7㎡ and an inclusion area of 7㎡. The purchase date was January 2010, coinciding with the period when Nam directly lobbied political circles to make the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) abandon public development. The purchase price was 20 million KRW, approximately 10 million KRW per 3.3㎡. Subsequently, on March 24, 2017, ownership of this land was transferred to Seongnam Eutteul through a negotiated acquisition process for public use land.

Some critics argue that Nam, one of the key figures at Hwacheon Daeyu responsible for land compensation work, effectively ‘self-compensated’ his own land.

However, there is also an interpretation that the scale of land Nam owned was more for the purpose of being listed among Daejang-dong landowners rather than speculative investment. By asserting himself as a landowner, he likely facilitated the land development and acquisition process for the original residents of Daejang-dong.

An industry insider said, "Although Nam’s land is located in the central area of Daejang-dong, according to the land use plan at the time, it was classified as a single-family residential area, not included in the multi-family housing area where apartments were to be built. Among the original residents of Daejang-dong, he was well known and personally conducted persuasion efforts, so it is highly likely that the purpose was to ease the development process rather than for compensation."

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