[EDITORIALS]Parkview looks suspicious

Suspicion of an exchange of preferential treatment and influence peddling between the developer and potential buyers of units in Parkview, an apartment/office building in Bundang, is ballooning. Prosecutors confirmed that they have found that purchasing rights for the 67 dual purpose units were sold to selective bidders before the official bidding began. But tracing financial accounts has boosted that number to 446 units. Both the developer and the construction company have been found to have auctioned off a large number of units preferentially, which allows for the possibility that the number may increase.

The allegations are looking a lot like the truth. People who lined up outside the model house to submit their applications to purchase units have been cheated. Although developers claim that it is common for developers of dual-purpose buildings to distribute purchase rights as they see fit, we cannot but question the ethics of this practice. The burning question concerning the Parkview building is whether the developer received favorable treatment in winning the development rights, which were obtained after the site was rezoned. Also, did those who won the purchase rights through the prior-selective bidding process receive kickbacks for influence they might have exercised on behalf of the developer and the builders?

Some of the people tied to the scandal have come forth to clarify the situation. But we are getting the feeling that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. We wonder whether the authorities were truly unaware that this system exists.

Central to finding the answers may be uncovering how the plot of land, formerly a commercial site, got rezoned by Seongnam city.

Prosecutors launched an investigation into these questions last November, but with six months having passed, there are no clear explanations of what happened. We cannot but once again question the commitment of the prosecution to finding the truth. There is enough reasonable substance to the circumstantial evidence for us to assume that an iceberg as big as the alleged scandals involving President Kim Dae-jung's sons is waiting to be revealed.