LH scandal expanding to political circles
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, center, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
A speculative land purchase scandal involving employees of a state-run housing corporation is expanding to political circles, with some ruling party lawmakers embroiled in similar land speculation allegations.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is paying keen attention to whether the scandal, which has already aroused public anger, will stir negative public sentiment toward the party and affect the mayoral by-elections slated for April 7.
The allegations follow the land speculation scandal involving employees at Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), in which some employees bought farmland in Siheung and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province prior to the government's announcement of new development projects there.
Rep. Yangyi Won-young of the DPK came under suspicion first, as her mother purchased undeveloped land in Gwangmyeong near an area announced recently to be part of the development project.
Following a media report about the purchase, Tuesday, Yang issued a statement saying, “I did not know that my mother owned land near the development site until the recent LH incident occurred.”
Yang said she first learned of her mother's purchase of the land in Gwangmyeong last August when she was reporting properties of her own and family members as a lawmaker, but did not know the land was near the planned development area.
But more suspicions have been raised against other DPK members, even as the government carries out a massive investigation into ministries and public organizations to look into possible speculative land purchases by employees or their family members using confidential information.
The wife of Rep. Kim Kyung-man bought land close to a development site in Siheung. Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the DPK's Supreme Council, purchased land in 2015 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which is near the site for a separate development plan.
Both of them said the land purchases were made in the past before they became lawmakers and was not connected to any development plans.
The DPK leadership is trying to minimize adverse effects on the public opinion toward the party, as it faces a crucial time with less than a month ahead of the April 7 elections that include mayoral by-elections for Seoul and Busan, the country's two biggest cities.
The DPK's ethics inspection team has started to monitor for potentially speculative land purchases by lawmakers, leaders of local governments and members of local councils who belong to the party.
With the party in trouble, DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon proposed to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, Thursday, to carry out a thorough investigation of all 300 lawmakers of the Assembly regardless of party affiliation.
Meanwhile, the government said its initial investigation into 14,000 employees of LH and the land ministry found possible speculative land purchases by 20 people, seven more than the initially suspected 13 people. Cheong Wa Dae also said it inspected 368 secretaries and their family members but found no suspicious land purchases.