Police raid Gwangyang city hall over mayor's alleged land speculation

Police raided Gwangyang city hall on Tuesday as part of an investigation into allegations of land speculation by the mayor and his wife.

The Jeonnam Police Agency said its investigators searched the office of Gwangyang Mayor Jeong Hyeon-bok, the office of the roads department and the mayor's official residence in the city 423 kilometers south of Seoul, and seized computers and cell phones to analyze for evidence.

Jeong has been suspected of receiving special favors after a piece of land owned by him and one of his children was used for road construction, partly in exchange for compensation.

A separate road project is being planned on a plot of land purchased by the mayor's wife two years ago for what she said would be a plum farm.

Police said they have also received a complaint about the city government's possible unfair hiring of five people, including Jeong's relatives and children of people who helped his election campaign.

Police have led a government campaign to crack down on speculation by public sector workers in the wake of a massive land speculation scandal involving employees of the state housing developer, Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH).

The LH scandal has enraged the public due to the apparent injustice of using insider information for speculative buying when home prices are soaring nationwide.

In one such case, an LH employee was arrested late Monday after Suwon District Court's Ansan branch issued a warrant, citing the credibility of the allegations against him and concerns he may destroy evidence or flee.

An associate of the suspect was arrested at the same time in the same case.

The two allegedly bought 22 plots of land in Gwangmyeong, southwest of Seoul, between March 2017 and December 2018, under the names of 36 people, before the area was designated for development.

The LH employee reportedly worked in a department of the developer that oversaw "new town" projects in Gwangmyeong and other cities in early 2017.

He is suspected of using information he obtained through work to purchase the land under the names of his family members and friends. Police also suspect he provided the information to colleagues at LH's North Jeolla Province headquarters.

Last week, the court issued a police-requested ban on the sale of four of the 22 pieces of land ahead of their possible confiscation, which will depend on whether the LH employee is convicted.

"We will continue to strictly investigate National Assembly members or public officials who have been accused of speculating in real estate, regardless of the office they hold and without sanctuaries," a police official said. "All profits from speculative activity will certainly be confiscated." (Yonhap)