Won Hee-ryong Orders Annual Investigation of LH Executives' Real Estate Transactions, Demands Strong Reform

One-Year Review of Follow-Up Measures After the LH Speculation Scandal

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

It has been over a year since the land speculation scandal involving employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in March last year and the subsequent follow-up measures were announced. However, with ongoing assessments pointing to sluggish reforms and persistent public distrust, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong has called for intensified reforms.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a meeting of the ‘LH Innovation Inspection Task Force’ chaired by First Vice Minister Lee Won-jae to review the progress of LH reforms so far and discuss future plans.

The ministry explained the background of this meeting by stating, "On the first anniversary of the announcement of the ‘LH Innovation Plan’ on June 7 last year, Minister Won instructed a strong reform of LH under the leadership of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport." A ministry official said, "We must completely transform LH into an institution that overcomes organizational selfishness and focuses on its core missions such as housing supply and residential welfare improvement," adding, "The public’s demand remains high for LH, as the representative real estate public corporation, to lead the construction culture."

As part of the plan to promote strong reforms, the ministry will investigate real estate transactions of LH employees annually and strengthen management against misconduct such as speculation and abuse of power. New investment and contribution projects will be fundamentally prohibited except for core functions, and existing invested companies will be liquidated or have their shares sold if they have already achieved their business objectives or have accumulated losses over multiple years. Salaries for employees at grade 2 or higher will be frozen (2021?2023), and excessive welfare support will be continuously reduced (2021?2025).

Vice Minister Lee said, "The LH Innovation Plan is not merely about restoring public trust at the LH level but is directly linked to trust in real estate policy and the entire public sector," adding, "We will take this meaning seriously and, with a solemn awareness, ensure that LH can be reborn as a more transparent, responsible, and efficient organization."

Meanwhile, the government had previously implemented strong control measures to prevent speculation, as well as business and personnel restructuring, as follow-up actions to the LH scandal.

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