Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Controversy continues over public servants' speculative home purchases
The new headquarter of the Customs Valuation & Classification Institute in the administrative town of Sejong remains empty, Tuesday, as the government agency was not able to relocate to the city although it built the building. But its employees are suspected of gaining profit from purchasing houses there that were offered at a special price for civil servants. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
More allegations of speculative home buying by civil servants have emerged, this time in the administrative town of Sejong where dozens of ministries and affiliated organizations have been relocated.
It is alleged that some employees of the Customs Valuation and Classification Institute (CVCI) purchased, and later sold, apartments there to profit from rising real estate prices even though their workplace is not in the city.
This latest case of alleged property speculation by public officials follows on from multiple cases that surfaced earlier this year involving workers at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), the state-run housing developer.
According to Rep. Kwon Young-se of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), the CVCI, an affiliate of the Korea Customs Service (KCS), planned to relocate from Daejeon to Sejong in 2015, citing an increase in its number of employees.
The KCS received a 17.1 billion won ($15.1 million) budget from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and built the new CVCI headquarters in Sejong. However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety put the brakes on the plan as the CVCI was not included in the list of government agencies eligible for relocation, only those in the Seoul metropolitan area were subject to the move.
The new CVCI building in Sejong has been completed but remains empty.
Although the relocation plan was not confirmed, more than half of CVCI employees, or 49 out of 82, purchased apartments in Sejong through a special allotment for civil servants who had to move to the new town ― enabling them to buy the homes at lower-than-market prices.
As real estate prices have since skyrocketed in the administrative town in recent years, they have gained huge profits, the lawmaker said.
He cited the case of four CVCI workers who purchased homes in an apartment complex for 300 million won in 2017 that are now on the market for 1.5 billion won.
Rep. Kwon also pointed out that employees of other government agencies ― the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency and the Korea Coast Guard ― also benefited from the special housing allotment for public servants when their headquarters were temporarily moved to Sejong. The two agencies were later relocated to Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and Incheon, respectively.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum speaks to reporters at the Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap
These allegations are evoking public indignation in a country where housing is one of the most sensitive issues, as they are the latest example of civil servants taking advantage of their work to make real estate gains. Initially this was sparked by a land speculation scandal involving LH where employees allegedly used insider information to purchase planned development sites and illicitly gain profits.
On Tuesday, a day after the allegation emerged, new Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum ordered an investigation into how such loopholes were created and promised to take all necessary measures if illegal activities were uncovered, implying the government might revoke the special apartment privileges provided to the CVCI employees.
Talking about the planned overhaul of the organization and functions of LH following the scandal, Kim added that it will be changed almost to the level of “dissolution.”
"A draft for the reform of the LH is underway, reflecting public anger over the state-run firm monopolizing information and power about housing, which led to the speculative purchases," Kim told reporters.