PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES FOR LH SCANDAL

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President Moon Jae-in has apologized for the massive land speculation scandal involving officials from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation. He vowed to sever the cycle of corruption in the real estate market. The opposition parties blasted Moon for his belated apology as "insincere."

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President Moon's apology comes two weeks after the land speculation scandal first erupted.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "I apologize to the public. I apologize for the disappointment and frustration this has caused to the hard-working people."

The president has vowed to end the cycle of corruption in the real estate market and again directed fundamental reforms in public agencies. Moon pledged to devise not only preventative measures but also follow-up restrictions. The president ordered his administration to take public interests and ethical management into consideration more than ever when evaluating public agencies. The opposition camp blasted Moon's apology, saying it was belated and insincere.

[Soundbite] Bae Jun-young(Spokesperson, PPP) : "I doubt the public will trust the sincerity of the president's apology without dismissing cabinet officials and promising to overhaul state affairs from scratch."

The ruling party plans to legislate new laws on preventing land speculation by public servants within this month. The new laws include the establishment of an agency for monitoring illegal real estate transactions and mandate that public servants report their real estate properties.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-nyeon(Acting chief, Democratic Party) : "We will negotiate the matter with the opposition based on our commitment to eradicating deep-rooted corruption in real estate."

However, the meeting of the sub-committee of the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee to discuss new laws has been cancelled. Although the president has apologized personally for the scandal and vowed to confront it head on, he is still facing harsh criticism for little progress in his campaign pledge to eradicate corruption in real estate as he enters his final year in office.