Ahn Cheol-soo calls on government, Democratic Party officials to disclose Honam land holdings

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo urged the government to disclose land holdings by public officials and Democratic Party figures in the Honam region, following reports of plans to build a large-scale semiconductor cluster there.

In a Facebook post Monday, Ahn said the Lee Jae Myung administration has staked everything on the "Honam semiconductor" project, adding that land around the expected site for a Samsung-SK Hynix complex has already drawn intense interest. "Investment inquiries are flooding in and all existing listings have disappeared — people are saying this is the most attention the area has ever seen," he wrote.

Ahn said the harder the government pushes ahead with the project, the more sharply property prices will rise — not only at the designated site but also in nearby commercial and residential areas. "Land tied to related road, rail and logistics infrastructure will also hit the jackpot," he said. "Since these are sites essential to factory operations, sellers will be able to name their price."

"Ultimately, the Honam semiconductor factory will create countless land millionaires, with windfalls pouring in through massive land compensation payouts and capital gains," he added.

Ahn then questioned whether government and ruling-party insiders could be among those benefiting. "Can anyone say with certainty that none of them are involved?" he said. "Is this not precisely the kind of speculation that President Lee claims to despise?"

Ahn noted that when crafting real estate policy, President Lee had applied a strict standard — barring even low-level photocopying staff who owned multiple homes from policy roles. "That same standard must be applied equally to land speculation," he said.

He urged all public officials in the Lee Jae Myung administration, as well as Democratic Party lawmakers, local government heads, local council members and party officials, to immediately disclose their land holdings in the Honam region. "If anyone holds land suspected of yielding speculative windfall gains, they must divest without hesitation," he said.

"Otherwise, the Honam semiconductor investment will ultimately become someone's speculative jackpot project — and before long, it will become the subject of a special prosecutor investigation," he added.