Social Security Office Accused of Buying Vacant Land for 84.5 Million Baht with Insured Persons' Money

On February 2nd, 2026, Sahassawat Khumkong, a People's Party parliamentary candidate from Chonburi, exposed a controversial land purchase by the Social Security Office. The office bought a 5-rai plot of land for 84.5 million baht, despite the land's assessed value by the Treasury Department being only around 24 million baht. The purchased land is located in a hard-to-access area with narrow, difficult roads, and is currently an overgrown vacant lot. The project, approved in late 2023 before the elected board took office, was meant to construct a new Social Security Office branch in Chonburi. Sahassawat raised five key questions about the purchase, including why a specific procurement method was used and why the land was bought in a remote location despite specifications requiring proximity to main roads. He also noted that the land was assembled from five separate plots and purchased for slightly below the initial budget of 88 million baht. The candidate called for transparency, urging the Social Security Office to explain the purchase and open the terms of reference (TOR) for public scrutiny.