The People Power Party (PPP) continued its all-out offensive regarding President Lee Jae-myung's establishment of a collateral mortgage on his Bundang apartment, criticizing it as "Deobureo-geunjeodang (a play on words combining the Democratic Party's name and mortgage)" and "the destruction of fairness and common sense."

On social media today (the 22nd), Representative Jang Dong-hyeok directly targeted President Lee, stating, "I hear seller loans have appeared in Gangnam. It seems President Lee's style of 'Deobureo-geunjeodang' is becoming the new normal for high-end housing transactions," and adding, "He used to criticize Gangnam the rich, but his actions are textbook Gangnam style."

Regarding the presidential office's explanation that President Lee's housing sale was "conventional," Representative Jang pointed out, "How many homeowners in South Korea are actually capable of lending a whopping 1.77 billion won?" He added, "The targets of tax audits announced by the National Tax Service two months ago include 'cash-rich individuals unaffected by loan regulations and those with excessive private debt.' That describes President Lee to a T."

He also criticized the decision that President Lee agreed not to receive interest on the collateral mortgage and that the National Tax Service concluded it to be a normal transaction, saying, "Even between parents and children, interest-free loans are regarded as abnormal transactions and subjected to tax audits. If this is allowed, endless amounts of gifts disguised as loans become possible." He slammed it as "a presidential fast pass that can by no means be called conventional."

Floor Leader Chung Jeom-shik also criticized the move, saying, "An eccentric apartment transaction on credit by selling one's own apartment attached with a collateral mortgage is the epitome of expedience, and the deception of bypassing the very loan regulations he created is the destruction of fairness and common sense."

He continued, "Not only does this prove the rule that real estate prices skyrocket when the Democratic Party takes power, but it has completely broken records. Young people are being cornered out of the housing market due to the government's flawed policies," pointing out that "it is no exaggeration to call the Lee Jae-myung government a 'generation-exploiting regime.'"

Chief Senior Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon issued a commentary, demanding, "While tightly locking down the public's mortgage loans, the presidential couple effectively acted as private moneylenders themselves, handing out hundreds of millions of won in loans to maximize real estate unearned income." He asked, "Is this President Lee's version of real estate fairness and common sense?"

Senior Deputy Spokesperson Choi Eun-seok urged in response to the presidential office's explanation, "This is a typical diversion tactic and an absurd explanation that sidesteps the core issue," demanding answers on "why the house was sold in such a hurry while even setting up a collateral mortgage, and whether that transaction method was an expedient tactic to skirt around the loan regulation net applied by the current government to the public."

(Photo: Yonhap News)