Former Public Official Suspected of Real Estate Speculation Near Yongin Semiconductor Cluster to Be Referred to Police

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced it will refer a retired public official to police after it was revealed that he purchased land near a planned development area adjacent to the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster under the name of a family company.

The province stated that former official A, who worked in the Investment Promotion Department's corporate investment recruitment section, will be referred for "violation of the Anti-Corruption Act" after being found to have obtained unfair profits using confidential information obtained during his tenure. The referral will be made by the 23rd.

According to Gyeonggi Province's investigation, official A was first appointed as a business promotion officer for the Hwaseong International Theme Park (formerly Universal Korea Resort, USKR) promotion division in 2009 and worked for 10 years through the 5th and 6th elected administrations before retiring in May 2019 when his contract period expired.

Official A learned that SK Construction submitted an investment letter of intent requesting industrial complex allocation to Yongin City in January 2018 during the 6th elected administration. It has been confirmed that on January 16, he initially reported this investment trend to Gyeonggi Province. The province believes that A would have been aware of the relevant drawings in this process.

It has been confirmed that A completed land acquisition and registered ownership transfer in October 2018, more than four months before Gyeonggi Province officially announced the attraction of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in February 2019.

The land in question covers approximately 1,559 square meters (470 pyeong) of lot and building in Dokseong-ri, Won-sam-myeon, Choin-gu, Yongin City, with a purchase price of 500 million won. The purchaser was Hoyeon Industrial Co., Ltd., a company represented by A's wife.

Gyeonggi Province announced it will implement additional measures to prevent recurrence along with the referral of official A.

First, the province will immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into all current and former public officials in the Investment Promotion Department and Industrial Policy Department who were involved in promoting the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, as well as all current and former public officials who worked alongside A, to determine whether there are violations such as real estate speculation.

The province will immediately refer any violations discovered during the investigation for prosecution or request a police investigation.

Additionally, taking into account that A handled investment recruitment projects for 10 years, not only the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster but also premium outlets, theme parks, and industrial complexes, the province will conduct a comprehensive investigation into real estate speculation regarding various projects A handled during his tenure.

Governor Lee Jae-myung stated, "We will use this incident as an opportunity to turn crisis into opportunity to rectify the illegal real estate speculation by public officials that has been carried out in secret, and will investigate thoroughly and handle it severely." He added, "Along with this, it is necessary to introduce systems that can fundamentally prevent real estate speculation, such as real estate trusts for public officials and measures to recover unearned income generated from development profits."