Govt. team probes former LH executive over alleged speculation

A government probe team has been looking into allegations of real estate speculation by a former executive of the state housing developer, the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), an official said Friday.

The former executive was vice president of LH until his retirement in 2016 and is suspected of using insider information to purchase land and a four-story building in Seongnam, south of Seoul, in 2017, before the land was designated for redevelopment, according to the probe team. The suspect sold the land and building last June.

He is the highest-ranking LH official to be implicated in a massive land speculation scandal centered on the developer.

"(Police) raided seven locations, including the LH headquarters, Seongnam City Hall and the suspect's residence, in connection with the charge, on Tuesday and are analyzing the materials they seized," the official, who is with the probe team handling the LH scandal, told reporters.

The team is led by the police and has been investigating dozens of LH officials and other public sector employees on suspicion of property speculation since the scandal broke in early March.

The incident has rocked the nation due to the apparent injustice of public officials using insider information for personal gain at a time when ordinary citizens are struggling to cope with skyrocketing home prices nationwide. (Yonhap)