PM vows to come up with special measures as insider speculation scandal widens

Mar 12, 2021, 08:17 am

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Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announces the results of the government’s preliminary investigation into the LH scandal at the government complex in Seoul on March 11, 2021./ Photographed by Song Eui-joo

AsiaToday reporter Lee Jang-won

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a briefing on Thursday the government will “never forgive the crimes of the pubic corporations and the public servants who filled their pockets” amid widening accusations of insider speculation by employees of the state housing corporation. The prime minister revealed a plan to expand its investigation, saying, “We will go through all suspicions and allegations with a fine-tooth comb and leave no stone unturned.” The prime minister pledged to stabilize real estate market and restore fairness, saying it is the government’s responsibility to restore public trust.

The prime minister announced the results of the preliminary investigation by the joint government taskforce and said, “We will make sure that government punishes anyone found guilty through thorough investigation,” he said.

“It is a clear crime that exploits dreams of ordinary people who are saving money throughout their life to buy their own house,” Chung said. “The people’s anger is reasonable, and their request for condemnation is obvious,” he said. “We will establish an institutional system that can transparently monitor speculative activities of public officials and employees of public corporations. We will immediately kick out those who have committed illegal speculative practices.”

Regarding profits created by illegal speculative practices, the prime minister vowed to take immediate institutional supplementary action and legislative measures in consultation with the National Assembly so that illegal profits can be surely recovered.”

On the real estate market stabilization issue, Chung said the government was declaring war on property crime. “We will come up with special measures to sternly punish illegal and unfair practices and firmly enforce them.” Regarding the government’s plan to supply homes, Chung said the plan would be implemented as initially planned to stabilize the housing market.

The government revealed that a total of 20 people were suspected of buying land for speculation after an preliminary probe of nearly 14,000 employees of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp (LH) and public officials. The taskforce plans to request an investigation on the twenty people to a special investigative team. In addition, a secondary probe will take place on public officials on Gyeonggi and Incheon in charge of related affairs as well as employees of local public corporations.

Th e special investigative team will continue the probe, which will be expanded to include spouses and relatives of the officials in question. The taskforce will transfer all of the material it found involving 144 people that own houses in Goyang-Hanam-Namyangju areas of Gyeonggi Province, to the special investigative team.

Cheong Wa Dae made a separate statement on the outcome of its own investigation into whether any of its officials are involved in suspected land transactions. “The target of the investigation included President Moon and his family,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said. Cheong Wa Dae is also looking into recent land transactions by lower-grade officials and their families, 3,714 in total. The presidential office plans to open its results as soon as the probe in completed.

#Prime minister #Chung Sye-kyun #land speculation #LH #special investigation