Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Rhee Hyung-il stated today (the 22nd), "Approximately 150,000 public housing units are scheduled to move in from the fourth quarter of this year through next year," adding, "We understand that about 100,000 of these units will be located in the Seoul metropolitan area."

Deputy Prime Minister Rhee made the remarks during the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee audit in response to a question by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-jun, who pointed out that the public should be able to tangibly feel housing supply.

Rhee further explained, "In the past, we used to announce (housing supply targets) centered on permits, but because there are many unstarted projects, we are now managing them based on construction starts," adding, "When it reaches the stage of move-ins, the tangible impact will be much greater."

Asked by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook about the outlook for apartment prices in Seoul, Rhee noted, "Looking at it in the short term, both upward and downward factors are mixed." He also explained, "Leading supply indicators such as permits and construction starts are currently rising, and we expect the supply volume from third-generation new towns to increase starting in 2028."

He went on to predict, "If we work harder on our efforts to expand supply, the market will gradually move toward stability."

Regarding a point raised by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon that when the National Pension Fund Management Committee voted to increase the proportion of domestic stocks in the National Pension Service, Rhee—who was then the 1st Vice Minister of Economy and Finance—attended the meeting, and that the decision amplified concerns that the National Pension could be depleted during a stock market downturn, Rhee explained, "The upward adjustment of the National Pension's domestic stock ratio was decided by comprehensively reviewing various factors, including market conditions and fund principles."

Rhee explained, "We suspended the (National Pension) rebalancing in January, but around May, we decided to stop the suspension of rebalancing and normalized it starting July 1," adding, "Instead, if we didn't raise the target proportion (for domestic stocks), a sharp sell-off (of National Pension stocks) seemed likely to occur if things continued this way, so we raised the target baseline."

He emphasized, "We did not do that for short-term stock market stimulus or stock price defense."

(Photo: Yonhap News)