Gov't, ruling party seek tougher rule on public officials' property registration
Apartments in Seoul / Yonhap
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government agreed Friday to push for expanding the asset declaration system of civil servants in a bid to stave off their unfair and illicit real estate transactions.
The two sides announced the move at the start of a high-level meeting also involving Cheong Wa Dae on measures to prevent the recurrence of an incident like the snowballing scandal centered around the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), the state housing supply arm. The session was held at the National Assembly.
At least 20 LH employees are suspected of having purchased huge swathes of undeveloped land around Seoul over a few years with undisclosed information on plans to construct major residential towns there.
The scandal has rocked the political circles as it emerged at a time when public discontent over the nation's soaring housing and rent prices runs high. Moon's approval ratings, already affected by his left-leaning administration's failure to curb the hikes, fell significantly once again.
"We will consider expanding the system to require all assets of public servants, regardless of their positions and ranks, registered," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said. The government will also mandate the prior declaration of their new property purchases, he added.
He also vowed to tighten the monitoring of land ownerships and purchases before announcing new development sites down the road.
DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, who is acting as the party chairman, said the party will push for a revision of the Agricultural Land Act to prevent property speculation activities on farm land.
Kim also said the party will push for the establishment of a new regulatory agency tasked with tracking real estate transactions and monitoring irregularities. (Yonhap)