Lee Heon-wook, chairman of the Korea Real Estate Board, said the agency will verify on its own the facts behind allegations that private citizens were illegally monitored under the Moon Jae-in administration. The claims hold that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Korea Appraisal Board, now the Korea Real Estate Board, systematically tracked the activities of figures who criticized the government's housing policy at the time. No separate investigation has been ordered by the ministry so far, according to officials.
Lee gave the response on the 15th during a parliamentary audit of the Korea Real Estate Board and the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Asked by Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party what steps had been taken on the allegations, Lee said, "I will look into the facts carefully." He added, "I became aware of the issue last week, and we are now asking those involved individually how it came about." Asked whether the ministry had formally requested an investigation, Lee said, "I have not received any such clear instruction."
The controversy began with an internal document disclosed at the ministry's parliamentary audit on the 7th of this month. Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party presented a file titled "Status of Real Estate Experts," reportedly drafted in November 2019, and alleged that the government at the time had tracked the activities of private figures critical of its housing policy.
The document reportedly listed YouTubers active in the real estate field, corporate officials and former journalists. According to Kim, it compiled not only their views on government policy but also the venues where the remarks were made and the specific content of those remarks.
Some entries went beyond simply gauging public sentiment, lawmakers said. The document contains the phrase "need to verify the source of funds used to purchase a home," and in one case links a particular figure's outlook on the housing market to property the person owned in Seoul's Yongsan district.
Citing those entries, Yoo raised the possibility that information on private citizens' property holdings was used in drafting the document. He also said the Korea Real Estate Board had not conducted a sufficient internal review even after the allegations were disclosed at the National Assembly, and called for a more active investigation.
The Democratic Party of Korea said the opposition's requests for witnesses risk turning the audit into a partisan fight and that priority should go to figures directly tied to livelihood issues. With accounts in conflict over the document's purpose and how the information was gathered, the findings of the Korea Real Estate Board's follow-up review are expected to be key to resolving the allegations.