Gijang County Requests Board of Audit Review of Jukdo Sale Contract... Missing Person Report Filed for Original Owner

Mayor Woo Seongbin: “No Direct Confirmation from Original Owner”

Problems Raised in Power of Attorney, Seal Certificate, and Other Contract Procedures

Gijang County has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the Jukdo Island sale contract it signed with the Sinangchon group and has requested an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. The county also stated that they would file a missing person report for Park, the second leader of Sinangchon and the original owner of Jukdo Island.

On September 7, Gijang County Mayor Woo Seongbin held a press conference and announced that major procedural issues had been identified in the sale contract between Gijang County and Sinangchon.

Woo, who serves as the head of Gijang County’s Inspection Task Force for Corruption and Wasteful Projects, cited the most fundamental issue in this case as the lack of direct confirmation of the intention to sell by the original owner of Jukdo Island, the second leader of Sinangchon.

According to Gijang County, even the Letter of Intent to sell, which initiated the Jukdo Island sale contract on March 2, 2023, was submitted under the name of the CEO of Sinangchon Food Co., Ltd., not the original owner.

The county explained that, up to the finalization of the contract, there was no instance where the original owner’s intention to sell was confirmed in person, by phone, or through a video call.

As such, the county suspects there are reasonable grounds to believe that the original owner is in a situation where they cannot directly express intent to sell, or that there is a need to confirm their well-being, leading to the decision to file a missing person report.

The county also claims there were several procedural issues during the contract process, even when individuals claiming to represent the original owner signed the sale contract with Gijang County.

The main issue raised by the county was the legitimacy of the initiation procedure for the sale. Specifically, the Letter of Intent submitted in March 2023 was filed not under the name of the Jukdo Island owner, but by the CEO of Sinangchon Food Co., Ltd.

The county explained that the power of attorney for the seller, attached to the contract, lacked the seller’s identification card, and that there were aspects of the proxy certificate related to the seller’s registered seal that did not comply with legal procedures.

The county argues that the seller’s registered seal certificate was issued by proxy and that the power of attorney submitted at the time was not handwritten by the owner. Additionally, it was pointed out as an issue that a general seal certificate, not a real estate-specific certificate, was attached during the real estate transaction process.

The county also stated that, during the contract drafting process, there was a failure to indicate and include the signatures and seals of the proxies.

In particular, although three law firms that the county government consulted prior to the contract recommended verifying the seller’s identity in person, by phone, or via video call, this procedure was not implemented. The law firms involved were Shinseong, International, and Seongan.

It was also pointed out that the underlying circumstances were not sufficiently reflected in the foundational documentation during the process of managing shared property and seeking approval from the local council. The facts that the seller’s identity was not verified and that the recommendations from the law firms were not carried out were omitted from the related documents.

Additionally, the county announced that the “Recommendation and Consent for Appraisal Company” document, submitted during the Jukdo Island appraisal process, was also suspected not to have been written by the landowner in person.

Mayor Woo Seongbin stated, “We can no longer delay special measures to responsibly manage the tax revenue of Gijang residents and national funds that have been or will be invested in the Jukdo Island transaction. We will ensure a thorough investigation into this matter to clearly reveal any issues in the contract process and guarantee that not a single won of taxpayers’ money is wasted.”

Gijang County’s stated policy is to use the Board of Audit and Inspection request and the missing person report to clarify the facts throughout the Jukdo sale contract and rigorously determine the legitimacy of the related procedures.

Gijang County is holding a press conference regarding the sale contract of Jukdo Island and the disappearance of the original owner.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.