One again there's controversy about real estate owned by a high-ranking public official. Prime minister Lee Hae Chan, "he above all else and second only to the king," has been accused of real estate speculation, and National Assembly speaker Park Hee Tae has been found to have evaded taxes on rent income. As for Lee, the land in Daebudo was brought up during his confirmation hearing in June of last year. What makes things different now is that most of the farmland hasn't being used for anything. In order to deter the acquisition of farmland by speculative investors, law governing farmland requires that farmland left unattended for more than a year is to be forcibly sold.
Park's situation is relatively clear. He and his wife underreported the rent they received on a building under their ownership and thereby avoided paying decades worth of taxes. The building in Seoul's Daechidong was rented out at W16 million a month, but on the contract submitted to the local tax office rent was stated to be W3 million a month. It will also be difficult for him to evade suspicion that he engaged in real estate speculation with land and a building in Seoul's Gangnam, the hottest neighborhood in the country for real estate, back when he was a regular National Assembly member. His case is similar to that of former Constitutional Court justice Yi Sang Gyeong, who recently became the first since the court was created.
There are signs things are going to heat up because Lee looks like he's preparing to challenge some of the media that are on the attack about real estate speculation on his part. Actually, while you could call Lee careless in this case it would be hard to charge that his land in Daebudo was speculative investment. Depending on how you look at the commentary it might look like deliberate attempts to hurt him. Still, Lee has to remember that this is a real estate problem involving himself as prime minister and he cannot disappoint the people. We hope, therefore, that he takes action that quickly ends the controversy. If he had handled the matter appropriately back when it became an issue at his confirmation hearing he wouldn't have the problems he has now.
The Hankyoreh, 16 September 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Real Estate Problems for High-Ranking Officials |
