[Anchor]

It is Tuesday, and we have economic reporter Han Jiyeon with us. Han, we are talking about real estate policies again today, the 28th.

[Reporter]

Discussions are underway to exclude young adults and ordinary citizens from the total household loan management caps.

If this happens, banks could lower the lending barriers that they had raised due to the total caps.

"Total loan management" refers to financial authorities drawing a line on how much banks can increase household loans over the course of a year.

This year's target is 1.5%, but as banks nearly exhausted it during the first half of the year, they drastically raised the lending thresholds.

Consequently, even actual homebuyers who have received pre-sales and are unable to secure funds to pay the remaining balances are suffering damage.

Even now, policy-backed livelihood finance and mid-rate loans are excluded from the total cap, but the core of this current review is to expand the exceptions to include young adults, newlywed couples, and first-time homebuyers.

This was triggered by the President's remark on the 23rd that such genuine homebuyers should be supported in a pincer-like manner.

In addition to this, a plan to exclude group loans from the total cap regardless of young adults or newlyweds is also being reviewed.

Group loans are loans where people who purchased units in the same apartment complex receive interim payments or final balances all at once.

The balance of group loans at the top five commercial banks alone amounts to 148 trillion won, which accounts for 24% of all housing loans.

The demand for balance loans for units scheduled to move in from next month through the end of the year alone reaches 22 trillion won.

The total household loans that the top five banks can increase this year is around 4.3 trillion won, and even this has been almost entirely depleted.

Since the demand is more than five times that amount, the math simply does not add up unless they are exempted.

However, please note that this is still in the review stage and has not been finalized yet.

[Anchor]

What other policies are being reviewed?

[Reporter]

For those who own a home but live on a jeonse (lump-sum housing deposit) lease instead of living in their own home—meaning non-occupant single-home owners—the doors to borrowing could narrow further in the future.

Measures to tighten regulations on jeonse loans and large-scale mortgage loans for "non-occupant single-home owners" are being reviewed together.

First, for jeonse loans, a plan to lower the guarantee ratio from the current 80% to 70% is considered most likely.

The "guarantee ratio" refers to how much government-backed guarantee institutions guarantee when taking out a jeonse loan. If this ratio drops, the burden assumed by banks increases, ultimately having the effect of reducing loan limits.

Additionally, a plan to newly levy what is called a "macroprudential management contribution" on individuals receiving large mortgage loans is under review.

The idea is to charge an additional fee of 1% to 2% of the loan amount, separate from interest, the more money one borrows.

However, plans are also being reviewed to recognize actual residency as valid in cases where people have no choice but to live apart due to circumstances such as job transfers, children's education, or medical treatment.

Housing finance measures containing these details are scheduled to be announced as early as the day after tomorrow.

[Anchor]

Egg prices seem to still be expensive these days.

[Reporter]

They have risen even more. Ten special-grade eggs cost 4,256 won.

That is a 13.9% increase from a year ago.

Compared to an average year, prices have surged by over 20%.

Just a few years ago, a tray of eggs was in the 5,000 won range, but nowadays it is close to 10,000 won.

As prices rise like this, restaurants that use a lot of eggs are directly hit by the burden of ingredient costs.

Yesterday, I went to a naengmyeon (cold noodle) restaurant, and traditionally, half a boiled egg placed on top of naengmyeon is the finishing touch.

However, they left it out entirely. It was a bit disappointing.

Side dish shops that use much more eggs are also facing a serious situation.

One side dish shop uses 15 trays of eggs every week just to make jeon (pancakes), and they say there are days now when they operate at a loss.

The biggest reason for this surge in egg prices is that more than 10 million egg-laying hens were culled last winter due to avian influenza.

On top of this, this summer's extreme heat wave caused chickens to experience stress, which also affected and lowered their egg-laying rates.

The government plans to curb prices by increasing egg imports.

Expanding sources previously centered on the United States to Thailand and Brazil, the government has contracted over 100 million eggs so far.

However, with only about half of the contracted volume having entered the country so far, it is expected to take more time for consumers to physically feel the price drops.