Korea National Oil Corporation bought an industrial complex site and paid for it in full but never registered the transfer of ownership for 19 years, a lapse that came to light only years later. Half of the plot was transferred to a third party through a court auction during that period, exposing what critics call a serious gap in the state-run company's asset management.
According to materials the company submitted to Rep. Choi Soo-jin of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, and released on the 15th, KNOC signed a land purchase contract with the former Yeocheon County in South Jeolla Province (Jeollanam-do) — now the city of Yeosu — in 1991 and acquired a site of about 14,000 square meters.
The plot was owned in equal halves by two individuals, surnamed Kim and Park. KNOC completed the purchase payments as scheduled but, for reasons that remain unclear, left the property without registering the transfer of ownership.
The company discovered the unregistered status only around 2008, 17 years later. It then asked the city of Yeosu to transfer ownership under their entrustment agreement, and in January 2010 it completed the registration for the half of the site held by Kim.
The remaining half, held by Park, had already passed to a third party through auction proceedings in October 1997. KNOC had signed the purchase contract and paid the full amount, yet lost ownership of half the land.
The company sought legal advice in January this year on recovering ownership of that portion. The advice concluded that it would be difficult to claim ownership on the basis of the original purchase. Because the current landowner acquired the plot through a lawful auction and secured legal rights first through registration, KNOC lacks sufficient grounds to assert a claim.
"A state-run public institution bought land, put off registering the transfer of ownership and ended up losing half of what it had purchased — an absurd outcome," Choi said. "The circumstances of the registration failure and the asset management system must be examined thoroughly, responsibility must be assigned, and the company should seek reimbursement from those in charge at the time for the losses." She added, "There should be a full review of whether other plots were paid for without securing registration, and the asset management system should be overhauled to link contracts, payments and registration."