Over 1,500 Deployed in Police Real Estate Speculation Investigation... Public Official Punishments Remain Uncertain

One Year After the Launch of the Special Investigation Unit: Results Announced
Among 4,251 Referred Cases, 424 Are Public Officials
"We Know It Fell Short of Expectations..."

Song Young-ho, Head of the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Division at the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters, is announcing the investigation results of the 'Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters' on real estate speculation offenders at the National Police Agency on the 20th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 21st, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency announced the results of its investigation into real estate speculation allegations involving major public officials. This comes one year after the launch of the government joint special investigation headquarters, which was triggered by speculation allegations involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in new towns. Although the police deployed a total of 1,560 personnel for the investigation, only six high-ranking public officials were arrested. Nam Gu-jun, head of the National Investigation Headquarters, stated, "Public officials committed illegal acts secretly and systematically, making detection difficult," but added, "It is meaningful that we uncovered chronic crimes."

On the same day, the National Investigation Headquarters released the results of the past year’s investigation through a press release. They investigated 6,081 people, referred 4,251 for prosecution, and arrested 64 among them. They also confiscated and preserved speculative profits worth approximately 150.66 billion KRW before prosecution, thoroughly recovering assets acquired through speculative crimes. Head Nam commented, "Through the operation of the National Investigation Headquarters, we confirmed that when national issues arise, close cooperation with related agencies enables a faster and more systematic response." The investigation involved not only the police but also the Financial Services Commission, National Tax Service, and Korea Real Estate Board.

There is an assessment that the investigation into the public officials identified as the 'core' of the case fell short of expectations. The police explained that they investigated 658 public officials and 215 relatives of public officials by status. Among them, 103 were high-ranking public officials such as local council members, heads of local governments, and members of the National Assembly. Regarding the investigation results of high-ranking public officials, the police stated, "We referred 42 individuals with recognized charges and arrested six." However, the number of ordinary individuals investigated was overwhelmingly larger at 5,181, and the numbers referred for prosecution (3,827) and arrested (34) were also lower than those of public officials.

Head Nam also acknowledged, "We know the investigation results fell short of expectations." However, he emphasized, "There was no political consideration just because they were public officials," and "Based on factual evidence, we thoroughly investigated not only the individuals themselves but also their families and relatives." He added, "Regarding ordinary individuals, many are planned real estate investors who harm genuine buyers, and their crimes are by no means light, so we consider this a sufficiently meaningful achievement."

Looking at the crackdown status by region, it was concentrated in the metropolitan area. Among the total number of investigation targets, 2,984 people, accounting for 49.1%, were from Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. Specifically, Southern Gyeonggi had 1,121 people, Seoul 748, Incheon 670, and Northern Gyeonggi 445, in that order. The police referred 2,131 of these individuals for prosecution and arrested 39.

Meanwhile, the police announced that from this day forward, the government joint special investigation headquarters’ operational system will be converted into a permanent crackdown system. They plan to concurrently promote "customized planned investigations" considering the types of speculative crimes and regional characteristics. In particular, police stations in charge of large-scale development areas will focus on cracking down on speculative crimes such as ▲illegal acquisition of farmland ▲planned real estate speculation ▲fraudulent subscription ▲illegal resale ▲corruption in reconstruction and redevelopment according to the real estate development schedule. The police stated, "We will continue strict investigations until the day real estate speculation crimes are eradicated," and requested "active reporting and cooperation."

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