Moon to chair inter-agency policy meeting on eliminating 'real estate corruption'

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in plans to preside over an inter-agency policy meeting next week to discuss ways to root out real estate speculation and related corruption by public officials, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, amid mounting public outrage over a widening land speculation scandal.

Moon will chair an emergency session of the government's Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council for Fair Society on Monday at the presidential office, according to the presidential office.

The meeting will be attended by ministers of finance, justice and interior, as well as the head of the Financial Services Commission and the acting prosecutor general.

Top officials will discuss ways to fundamentally root out and prevent real estate speculation activities. They will also review launching a pan-governmental response scheme to deal with real estate-related corruption by public officials.

Monday's meeting will be the first time in nine months for Moon to personally preside over a gathering of the anti-corruption government council. In June, Moon chaired a session to discuss the prosecution reform.

The meeting will be held in light of a snowballing controversy surrounding alleged speculative land purchases by employees at Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), the state housing supply arm, based on insider knowledge.

Due to the LH scandal, the Moon administration is widely considered to be facing its biggest political crisis ahead of the April 7 mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan and with only a year left of its single five-year term.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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