It is shocking that Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy Lee Hun Jai is suspected of having engaged in speculative real estate investment. The transaction was in his wife's name, but it goes without saying that Lee himself was the main party behind it. How persuasive will government policy be when that is how it is with the deputy prime minister in charge of real estate policy? Purchasing land through illegal methods like "false transfer" and then selling it for a profit after enough time has transpired is something that cannot be tolerate among high-ranking public officials. Once upon a time they might have said it was just common practice, but for at least a sitting deputy prime minister, however, that is no excuse. That is why Lee needs to explain, in detail, the circumstances behind what happened.
This is a most serious problem because it could hurt confidence in and the purity of government policy. When he was speaking before the National Assembly a few days ago, President Roh Moo Hyun said he would stabilize the real estate market if it meant a "war with speculative real estate investment." You wonder if the president would have talked about "war" if speculation did not do more harm than good. How will people believe the government has the determination to deter speculative investment when the man who is supposed to carry out the president's intentions is suspected of such activity? Some actually hold Lee suspect in relation to the time he thought out loud about backtracking on plans to levy heavy transfer taxes on households that own three homes. He should not have to face such unnecessary misunderstanding.
Lee has given something of an explanation, but it was utterly insufficient as far as resolving the questions and actually caused suspicions to grow. He says the field he bought in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province was forest, but even when he did so it was classified as field-use, so that does not seem a reliable version of events. He seems desperate when he says the "false transfer" took place overseas and that he therefore does not know the details since a lawyer handled the process. He needs to make the people believe him.
The Hankyoreh, 1 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Lee Hun Jai Must Say More |
