President Lee: Real Estate Is South Korea's Greatest Challenge... Concerned Over 'Lost 30 Years'

President Lee Jae-myung emphasized today (the 23rd) regarding the issue of stabilizing the housing market, stating, "This issue is one of South Korea's greatest challenges," and stressing the importance of drawing a social consensus on solutions.

In his opening remarks at the National Public Debate on Real Estate Policy held at the KBS Annex, President Lee mentioned, "Looking at the asset ownership status of South Korean citizens, real estate takes up the largest share. There is a national consensus that measures [regarding real estate prices] are necessary."

In particular, President Lee pointed out, "Japan experienced difficulties at one point [due to real estate issues]. Prices kept rising until they reached a limit and burst like a balloon, leading to talks of the 'lost 20 years' and 'lost 30 years.' In fact, quite a few people worry that we are also racing toward that peak."

He further explained that it is not easy to derive solutions to the issue.

President Lee said, "Every administration has tried hard to solve this problem. Strangely enough, a perception has begun to be accepted almost like a truth among the public that 'prices rise whenever a certain type of administration comes into power.'"

He also brought up the point that policy perspectives diverge regarding each factor that determines prices.

President Lee stated, "Supply is very important, but the problem is that it is unclear where and how to increase it. When trying to lift greenbelts, nearby residents oppose it, asking why good land is being damaged. Some take the stance of building houses even if it means damaging some land, but anyway, the limits to supply are clear."

He continued, "The tax system also has an impact, though utilizing the tax system to suppress demand or increase supply in specific areas is an exceptional situation that deviates from its original purpose. Therefore, there can be debates on whether it is justifiable to intervene in supply and demand through the tax system."

He added regarding financial policy, "Because the lending capacity of financial institutions belongs to the people, finance is semi-public. There is also the issue of who should be given the opportunity to utilize finance."

He diagnosed, "There are opinions that people should be allowed to utilize finance to buy homes to make money, but if that happens, finance is utilized for investment and speculation rather than for residential purposes, causing housing prices to rise and harming the public."

President Lee emphasized, "Reconciling these conflicting interests is the most difficult task in politics. When you press down on one side, the other side tends to pop up," while also stressing that public officials must ultimately take responsibility and sort it out.

In addition, President Lee proposed holding an additional debate presided over by the Prime Minister if today's debate proves insufficient.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.