Key Topics of the National Assembly Land Committee Audit?..."Yangpyeong, Data Manipulation, LH Rebar Omission"

Controversy Over Special Privileges on Yangpyeong Expressway... 'Extension Match' at National Audit
At Least 94 Instances of 'Housing Statistics Manipulation'... Tense Standoff Between Ruling and Opposition Parties
Criticism Expected to Continue Over LH Rebar Omission Scandal

At the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit on the 10th, the ruling and opposition parties are expected to clash over issues such as preferential treatment allegations regarding the Yangpyeong Expressway by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, poor construction related to the omission of rebar by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and manipulation of housing statistics by the Korea Real Estate Board. Construction company officials are expected to testify not only at the Land Committee audit but also at the Environment and Labor Committee and the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee audits regarding issues such as bid rigging, major accidents, and poor construction.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the National Assembly on the 9th, the Land Committee will conduct audits on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, LH, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Real Estate Board, and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) from the 10th to the 27th. The audit on the 10th will focus intensively on allegations of manipulation of real estate statistics during the Moon Jae-in administration, preferential treatment allegations related to the Yangpyeong Expressway, and poor construction issues revealed by the omission of rebar in LH projects.

In particular, fierce disputes between the ruling and opposition parties are expected regarding the preferential treatment allegations related to the Yangpyeong Expressway. Earlier, on the 21st of last month, the Land Committee held a plenary session and decided on the list of general witnesses to appear at the audit. The list includes 10 people such as Ministry of Land officials, Gyeonggi Yangpyeong County officials, contractors, and experts related to the route change preferential treatment allegations of the Yangpyeong Expressway, as well as Im Byung-yong, Vice Chairman of GS Construction, related to the Incheon Geomdan New Town apartment collapse accident, totaling 11 people. Among the 11 witnesses, 10 are related to the Yangpyeong Expressway.

Amid the intense political strife expected between the ruling and opposition parties over the Yangpyeong Expressway preferential treatment controversy, the Ministry of Land announced survey results showing that the changed route has better economic feasibility. On the 5th, the Ministry explained in a briefing that the B/C ratio analysis of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway preliminary feasibility study route (Yangseo-myeon plan) and the alternative route (Gangsaeng-myeon plan) showed that the preliminary feasibility study route for the terminal section was 0.73, while the alternative route was 0.83, with the alternative route's B/C about 0.1 points (13.7%) higher. The Ministry plans to request the National Assembly to have this analysis verified by a third-party expert.

The issue of real estate price statistics manipulation during the Moon Jae-in administration is also expected to be a hot topic. Previously, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that the Blue House and the Ministry of Land manipulated statistics at least 94 times from June 2017 to November 2021. In this regard, the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, maintains the position that "there was no manipulation of statistics" and expresses distrust in the audit results, making a clash between the ruling and opposition parties likely.

Poor construction due to the omission of rebar by LH is also expected to be scrutinized. Earlier, the Ministry of Land announced that among rental and sale housing complexes ordered by LH, 15 complexes out of 91 sites applying flat slab structures in underground parking lots had rebar omissions. Subsequently, it was revealed that five complexes with rebar omissions were excluded from the announcement, which drew the ire of Minister of Land, Won Hee-ryong. Im Byung-yong, Vice Chairman of GS Construction, which caused the Incheon Geomdan New Town apartment collapse accident, has been selected as a witness for the audit.

In addition to GS Construction, Hoban Construction, DL E&C, and Lotte Construction are scheduled to appear as witnesses at the Industry and Trade Committee and Environment and Labor Committee. Regarding the 'swarm bidding' allegations, Park Cheol-hee, CEO of Hoban Construction, was selected as a witness for the Industry and Trade Committee audit. The Environment and Labor Committee selected Ma Chang-min, CEO of DL E&C, as a witness again this year following last year. DL E&C has recorded seven accidents resulting in eight deaths since the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, holding the unfortunate record for the highest number of serious accidents. Kim Jin, Head of Safety and Health Management at Lotte Construction, will also appear as a witness. Lotte Construction carries the stigma of repeated fatal accidents at construction sites.

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