Gyeonggi Province announced Tuesday it will extend its Special Task Force on Real Estate Market Disruption by six months through the end of this year.
The province originally ran the task force from Feb. 21 through June 30, but has now decided to extend it through Dec. 31.
The task force comprises eight special judicial police officers specializing in real estate. It monitors illegal activity, receives tips, conducts investigations and coordinates with relevant agencies to counter market-disrupting behavior.
Among its notable cases are a home price-fixing scheme in Hanam and a licensed real estate agents' social club case in Yongin. In the Hanam case, investigators uncovered an organized price-fixing operation in which participants used online group chats to artificially maintain and drive up home prices, identifying 39 individuals and referring six to prosecutors.
In the Yongin case, the task force identified three current and former executives of a real estate agents' social club that had restricted joint brokerage with non-member agencies and expelled members who violated the rule. All three were referred to prosecutors for operating an exclusionary trade arrangement.
As of the end of June, the province had received 51 tips through its real estate corruption hotline, of which six have been selected for active investigation.
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