Lee Warns, "Public Officials Who Conceal Illegal Valley Facilities Will Face Investigation and Punishment If They Miss Re-reporting Opportunity"

by Song Seungseop

Published 26 Feb.2026 10:39(KST)

President Lee Jaemyung is speaking at the expanded national tourism strategy meeting held at the Blue House on the 25th. Yonhap News

President Lee Jaemyung on the 26th warned public officials that if they conceal or falsely report issues related to illegal valley facilities, "they will be investigated and punished."

On this day, President Lee wrote on his social networking service (SNS), "To those public officials who colluded with illegal facility owners to conceal illegal facilities, and who obstructed the state administration of rectifying illegal valley facilities through false reports and dereliction of duty," adding, "I have given you an opportunity for reinvestigation and re-reporting through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety."

President Lee went on to say, "If you miss this opportunity, you will be subject to a full-scale investigation mobilizing every possible measure, including surveys of local resident employment and informant rewards, and you will then face investigation and punishment for related disciplinary actions, dereliction of duty, fabrication of official documents, and obstruction of the execution of official duties," stressing, "Do not miss this last opportunity, and I ask you to fully carry out your original responsibilities to the people and the nation."

Previously, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced through a pan-government task force (TF) that 835 cases of illegal occupation facilities had been identified in rivers and valleys nationwide. However, at a Cabinet meeting on the 24th, President Lee remarked, "When I conducted an investigation in Gyeonggi Province, it seemed there were far more than this," criticizing on the grounds that frontline public officials likely omitted the actual situation.