Korean doctor, lawyer fined $130,000 over Helensville property deal

Korean doctor Won Joo Hur has been convicted and fined $100,000 for breaching the Overseas Investment Act. Photo / Dean Purcell

A Korean doctor and his lawyer have been fined $130,000 for trying to obstruct an Overseas Investment Office investigation into buying a $3 million property.

Dr Won Joo Hur was fined $100,000 and his lawyer Dr Jaeho Choi $30,000 for buying Helensville land without consent and using a company to try to avoid the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

A decision was issued on March 11 by the High Court at Auckland, allowing the doctor to pay the amounts at the rate of $500/month.

Criminal and civil charges were brought against the two. The previous criminal charges have been reported, but not the result of the civil charges.

The deals go back to 2016 and were for land classified as sensitive.

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand enforcement manager Simon Pope said the OIO welcomed this month's court decision.

"This has been a long-running investigation leading to action being taken in both the criminal and civil spheres," Pope said.

"The defendants tried to make the purchase in the name of a New Zealand-owned company, despite legal advice that they couldn't do that. This kind of thing doesn't wash. You can't use an associated company to make a purchase on your behalf," Pope said.

"To keep themselves safe, overseas investors can make sure that any purchase agreements they enter into are subject to consent from the Overseas Investment Office. That's a simple act that can prevent these kinds of penalties."

The Herald has previously reported on the case.

The ruse included backdating what prosecutors labelled a fictitious loan document and drafting it by hand to avoid being sprung by a computerised date stamp.

When investigators caught wind of the deception, the pair told further lies and Choi instructed Hur to delete incriminating emails.