Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said land development projects that produce excessive returns for investors either through legal or illegal means need to be reconsidered. 

Hong made the remark during a parliamentary inspection session on government agencies Tuesday in response to questions on a controversial land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. 

Hong said socially unacceptable excessive proceeds are problematic. He said public and private portions of urban development projects should be mutually balanced and any illegalities in the process should be sternly dealt with by law. 

The minister, however, cautioned against generalizing all urban development projects across the nation as problematic, adding investigation into the Seongnam project is underway and needs more time before conclusions are made. 

Regarding a legislative push to impose huge tax burdens on excessive proceeds from public land development projects, Hong said such a law is necessary to some extent, adding the ministry will join discussions with the National Assembly on the matter.