SOUTH Korea's parliament has amended several laws aimed at cracking down on illegal real estate speculation by public officials.
The new amendments come as the country was rocked by an ongoing land speculation scandal involving the state housing developer.
The three bills that got the parliamentary nod, revises the Korea Land and Housing Corporation Act, the Public Service Ethics Act and the Special Act on Public Housing.
According to a Yonhap news report, the initiatives seek to eradicate public officials' illegal real estate transactions based on secret land development-related information they got while working for the government.
The government is currently facing a public backlash over a growing land speculation scandal involving officials of the state housing developer, LH.
There have been allegations that its employees used insider information to make speculative land purchases on public housing development sites and this inflamed public outrage at a time the government is struggling to rein in skyrocketing housing prices.
Following the amendments, a public official who sells or buys real estate based on insider information concerning state-led land development projects or who leaks such information to other people can be jailed for five years or fined up to five times the profit amount.
If the profits exceed 5 billion won (US$4.4 million), they could face life imprisonment and the monies can also be seized.
Meanwhile according to a Nikkei Asia report, 20 LH are suspected of buying land worth at least 10 billion won (US$9 million) in Gwangmyeong and Siheung cities, before the announcement of development plans in those areas.
Two senior LH officials have committed suicide while Land Minister Byeon Chang-heum, who heads LH until December, has offered his resignation.
Lawmakers in the ruling Democratic Party -- along with family members -- are also suspected of land speculation.
LH had been tasked with developing new cities and supplying housing for its population.
The corporation was founded in 2009 through a merger of two state companies in charge of land development and housing construction.
However, the scandal now could also derail government plans to develop new areas near Seoul to boost housing supply.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has also been implicated in the scandal after buying farm land near Busan last year for his planned retirement home.
The president said he has taken all the required legal steps, but opposition lawmakers accuse him of lying that he had been farming there for 11 years to buy the land.
The scandal is seen having an impact on the key mayoral elections in Seoul and Busan on April 7, which are considered a barometer for the presidential election next March.
Political analysts say that Moon risks becoming a lame duck in the final year of his single five-year term if his party loses the Seoul election.