The ruling Democratic Party (DP) proposed Thursday a parliamentary probe into all sitting lawmakers over a widening land speculation scandal, to which the main opposition party responded positively.

"The justice and order of our society should be re-established by launching an investigation into all of the employees at state-run institutions, high-level government officials as well as lawmakers," Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, acting chairman of the DP, said during a party meeting.

The proposal comes as the government strives to get to the bottom of the scandal that originated at the state-run housing developer Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) earlier this month.

The government has identified a total of 20 LH employees who, allegedly using insider information, purchased land mainly in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung area of Gyeonggi Province before it was designated as the site of a major public housing development project.

Fourteen public officials, including those at the municipal governments of the two cities, have so far additionally been confirmed to have bought land in the region for possible land speculation.

"Even a single piece of accusation is intolerable for lawmakers in particular, who represent the people," Kim said, issuing the proposal addressed to parliament Speaker Park Byeong-seug and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

He pointed out the DP is currently conducting a comprehensive internal investigation into all its affiliated lawmakers, their aides and other party staff members, requesting the PPP follow suit.

PPP chief Kim Chong-in immediately responded that the party is willing to accept the proposal.

"Let's try it. All the 300 lawmakers," Kim told reporters seeking his response to Kim's offer.

The DP's offer also came after some suspicious land deals by family members of its own members in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung area were revealed.

According to the government filing of asset holdings by high-level public officials, the mother of Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Yang Yi Won-young and the spouse of Rep. Kim Kyung-man have purchased plots of land respectively in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, both located southwest of Seoul, between 2016 and 2019.

The plots are located outside of a site later designated by the government for a large-scale housing construction project, but some have raised the possibility that they bought the land using insider information to capitalize on the looming government development plan.

Yang refuted the allegations, saying her mother was introduced to the land only by close friends and pledging that all real estate holdings of her mother will be disposed of.

Kim also denied the accusation and said his spouse is currently trying to sell the estates.

"The concerned forest land is what my spouse bought at the recommendation of her friends at church. It is by no means related with the site designated for the new city development, and I was even not a lawmaker (when the purchases were made)," he said.

Additionally, Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the DP's top council, is also facing allegations that she has purchased a plot of land in Hwaseong, south of Siheung, in possible land speculation taking advantage of a separate housing development zone nearby.

The string of land speculation allegations is sounding the alarm to the DP, as the ruling party and the Moon Jae-in government are striving to keep the scandal from developing into a political firestorm ahead of the April 7 Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections as well as the presidential election set for March 2022.

Bracing for a potential blow, the DP has pledged to take the most stringent possible action, such as expulsion from the party, against any party members guilty of land speculation.

"If any speculator is found, the party will take the most powerful action available, including permanent expulsion," party spokesman Choi In-ho told reporters earlier this week. (Yonhap)