Koo Jageun on Solaseado... "Local Credit Union Loan Concentration and Land Price Allegations Must Be Clarified"

58 Gwangju and Jeonnam credit unions participated
37 had loan commitments of at least 90% of their credit limits
Appraised value: KRW 4.47 billion → planned sale price: KRW 14.5 billion

People Power Party Rep. Koo Jageun (Gumi-gap, North Gyeongsang Province) said that 58 Saemaul Geumgo credit unions in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions participated in loans totaling KRW 230 billion for the Solaseado development project in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, and that the loan commitments of 37 of them amounted to at least 90% of their single-borrower credit limits.

People Power Party Rep. Koo Ja-geun (Gumi Gap, North Gyeongsang Province) [Photo courtesy of the lawmaker's office]

According to documents Rep. Koo received from Saemaul Geumgo and other sources, in 2021, senior loans totaling KRW 230 billion were arranged to repay existing loans and for other purposes at Haenam Solaseado First Co., Ltd., including KRW 136.3 billion from the central association and KRW 93.7 billion from local credit unions.

At the time, KRW 90.3 billion was loaned out, equivalent to about 82.6% of the KRW 109.3676 billion in combined single-borrower credit limits at 58 local credit unions.

Rep. Koo said that because loans from numerous local credit unions were concentrated in a single private development project, the credit unions’ independent loan reviews and the adequacy of their risk management should be examined.

Land prices at the site for the National AI Computing Center and the loan repayment process also came under scrutiny. According to appraisal documents from 2024, the appraised value of the Industrial Sites 15 and 16 was about KRW 4.47 billion, but a planned sale price of KRW 14.5 billion was presented during the project’s implementation in 2026. Saemaul Geumgo received repayment of KRW 10.15 billion, or 70% of that amount.

Rep. Koo Jageun said, "We need to verify whether risk management worked properly as local credit unions concentrated their lending in a single project," adding, "The basis for the KRW 14.5 billion valuation, the land provided as collateral, and the process for repaying KRW 10.15 billion must all be thoroughly investigated."

Objective verification is needed of the large-scale concentration of loans by local credit unions and the process used to determine the value of land for public infrastructure.

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