Purchase of Land in Bucheon Yeokgok Without Land Transaction Permit... Assemblyman Kim Kyung-hyup Indicted

Democratic Party of Korea Assemblyman Kim Kyung-hyup [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Kim Kyung-hyup, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (58, Bucheon City Gap, Gyeonggi Province), has been brought to trial on charges of purchasing land in a designated land transaction permission zone without obtaining the required approval.

On the 4th, the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office announced that Kim and lawyer A (74) were indicted without detention on charges of violating the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act.

Kim is accused of signing a contract on May 19, 2020, to purchase approximately 660㎡ of land owned by Mr. A in the public housing district of Yeokgok-dong, Bucheon City, Gyeonggi Province, for 500 million KRW, without obtaining permission from the local government.

Since December 26, 2018, the land has been designated as a land transaction permission zone, requiring notification and approval from the responsible local government to conduct any transactions. This land was included in the compensation target when it was designated as a public housing site in December 2019.

Kim previously stated, "The land transaction permission was not granted because I did not qualify as a farmer, so the sale did not proceed," and added, "I set up a mortgage to recover the money already paid." He claims that although a land sale contract was made, the sale was not finalized.

During the investigation of a farmland law violation case related to the public housing district project jointly implemented by LH and Bucheon Urban Corporation, the police discovered that Kim and others purchased land without obtaining the required land transaction permission and initiated an investigation.

A prosecution official said, "After the police transferred the case, additional facts were confirmed, and we conducted a supplementary investigation ourselves," adding, "After clarifying the detailed execution of the sales contract and the motive for the crime, we proceeded with prosecution following legal review."

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