ACRC Embarks on Full-Scale Review on Real Estate Transactions of Members of Both the National Assembly and Democratic Party of Korea

- To set up an investigation team led by Vice-Chairperson and Secretary General Lee Geonlee -

(1 April 2021, ACRC)

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui, ACRC) plans to carry out thorough investigation of violations against the real estate trading law committed by 174 members of both the National Assembly and Democratic Party of Korea, their spouses and blood relatives after receiving a request from the Party for a full-scale inspection on real estate transactions on March 30.

The Commission announced that it held a special plenary session in the morning of the 1st to discuss the ways to organize and run an investigation team for the comprehensive review of real estate trading, and ultimately set up a special investigation team led by ACRC Vice-Chairperson and Secretary General Lee Geonlee who was a Chief Prosecutor.

The subject of the investigation is 174 members of both the National Assembly and Democratic Party of Korea, their spouses and blood relatives who submitted an information disclosure agreement. The inspection will not only cover areas in the 3rd Phase New Town Development Plan, which was the scope of the last full-scale investigation on employees in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Korea Land and Housing Corporation done by the government joint investigation group, but also cases on which the media raised suspicions as well as reports filed with the ACRC for an act of speculation committed by public officials.

The investigation team will look into the transaction history that does not pass the 7-year statute of limitations in accordance with the Article 7-2 and 86 of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Although document reviews will be the main means of investigation, on-site investigation will be run side by side for cases that are suspected of speculation.

The Commission also revealed that it plans to acquire an agreement on collection and usage of personal information from 174 lawmakers and their families, and review their actual real estate transactions and ownership through the Real Estate Transaction Management System (Korea Real Estate Board) and Korea Land Information System (MOLIT) in collaboration with relevant agencies.

The team will run the inspection for 30 days since April 2 (and may be extended if necessary), promptly request the Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters for further inspection on cases that it suspects any speculation involved as a result of its own research, and release the investigation results when it is completed.

The ACRC Vice-Chairperson Lee Geonlee remarked "we will make sure to carry out the full-scale investigation without a hitch by closely collaborating with the National Assembly and the agencies that provide real estate information, and to conduct the comprehensive inspection on the members of the National Assembly in a fair manner, considering much interest of our people in the elimination of corruption in the public sector.