Representatives Yoo Sang-bum, Kim Sung-won and Choi Hyung-du of the main opposition People Power Party (from L to R) submit a proposal to the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday, to launch a parliamentary inquiry in to the LH real estate scandal. (Yonhap)
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday submitted a proposal to the National Assembly to launch a parliamentary inquiry into a snowballing land speculation scandal involving employees of a state housing developer.
Twenty employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) are currently under investigation on suspicion of using insider information to purchase farmland mainly in the cities of Siheung and Gwangmyeong, both south of Seoul, before the central government designated the regions as a major public housing development site last month.
In the proposal, the PPP called for a sweeping inquiry into matters related to land purchase deals in Siheung and Gwangmyeong.
PPP proposed investigating Cheong Wa Dae employees, public servants across municipal and local governments in Gyeonggi Province and the city of Incheon, the LH organization, as well as the Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corp. and the Incheon Housing and City Development Corp., as subjects of the proposed inquiry.
PPP Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who handed over the proposal to the parliament, stressed that the alleged speculation activity at the development site warranted a parliamentary inquiry for being a "deep-rooted evil" pointed out by the Moon Jae-in administration.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the PPP also began discussions on passing an independent counsel investigation bill on the LH scandal and a sweeping survey into land transactions of all sitting lawmakers -- which the two sides have tentatively agreed to pursue.
The two sides are expected to undergo fierce and exhaustive negotiations on all parliament-related topics related to the LH scandal, given the politically sensitive nature of the scandal itself, the fallout and the surrounding discussions.
The special counsel probe is expected to start after the upcoming Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections in April, and the political aftermath following the investigation could potentially last until the end of the year, just ahead of the presidential election early next year.
Through the special counsel probe, the DP is eyeing investigating all financial transactions related to the land in question, while commissioning a third-party institution to carry out the proposed survey on all sitting lawmakers along with candidates in the by-elections.
The DP in particular is demanding that the scope of the investigation be widened to include land outside of the region designated for the central government's housing development projects and that the time frame of the investigation also be expanded.
"Hoping to do all that could be done within the legal boundaries (is our position)," a key DP member said. "Eradicating the deep-rooted real estate problems, even at the expense of us taking a political hit, is what we hope to achieve," the person added.
The PPP, as evident in the parliamentary inquiry proposal, is not shying away from the opportunity to seize the initiative in taking on housing and real estate-related corruption -- especially at a time when public discontent over the nation's soaring housing and rent prices is running high.
Moon's approval ratings, already affected by his left-leaning administration's failure to curb the hikes, fell significantly once again, as many non-homeowners are feeling the pinch of rising housing prices despite a series of government measures.
"I wish that all public servants could become subjects (of the investigation)," PPP Rep. Ha Tae-keung said in a radio interview. "I hope a sweeping reform naturally takes over politics through this occasion," he added.
The PPP, however, is expected to object to calls from the DP to also look into development projects of the previous conservative administrations under former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, considering that increasing the scope of the probe beyond a reasonable balance could potentially slow down and dilute the focus of the investigation. (Yonhap)