On March 2, allegations that internal employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and their relatives illegally purchased large amounts of land were revealed by a group of lawyers for a democratic society. LH is a public institution under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that combines Land and Housing in Korea. Public institutions such as LH prohibit the use of their acquired insider information. However, LH employees bought the land in bulk before announcing the designation of new town projects in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “I don’t think they bought the land in advance knowing the development information.” At the time of LH employees speculating on land, the president of LH was Byun Chang-eun. In the presence of solid evidence, the remarks that seemed to be insignificant about the incident angered the public once again. Then, I would like to find out what the problem was in the process of LH speculation.
Firstly, Moon Jae-in’s government’s real estate problem. After the LH speculation scandal, the president insisted strongly on liquidating real estate. Having been going on for four years, however, Moon Jae-in was discontent over the issue of the real estate administration’s term, and the people had expressed their displeasure. The government is calling for a ‘clearance of deep-rooted evils’, but this administration has also failed in real estate policy, undermining public confidence.
Secondly, the relative deprivation of the people. After this incident, the younger generation, who are currently struggling to buy their own homes, felt a great sense of deprivation. Also, there were opinions that if you were an LH employee, you would have had to taken part in this speculation. In other words, no matter how hard you work, you seem to sympathize with the only means of escape for the younger generation who have no choice but to live in poverty.So, is there a solution to the LH speculation case? There is no clear solution to quell public discontent 100 percent. However, we believe that proactive precautions are necessary to build up the credibility of the government that has already run out and to respond to these problems in the future. There are already many strong opinions that LH should be disbanded and reorganized. The aforementioned opinions are not a sure solution. Who will solve the public’s trust and betrayal that have already passed away?
By: Youngwoong Cho