[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung has directly refuted some media reports covering his remarks on housing prices, labeling them "fake news." His rebuttal has triggered yet another clash.

Reporter Ha Jeong-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

Among President Lee Jae-myung's remarks during yesterday's (November 3) Cabinet meeting, the media drew particular attention to this statement.

[President Lee Jae-myung (Yesterday, Cabinet meeting) : "Actual transaction prices in prime areas are also continuing to fall. And they are dropping at a surprising rate."]

Media outlets took issue with the President's assessment, pointing out that overall housing prices in Seoul have been rising for 90 consecutive weeks.

President Lee singled out one of the reports, calling it "fake news."

Referring to an article titled "President's Remark on 'Plunging' Housing Prices Only True for Gangnam," he argued that his words—that prices are "dropping at a surprising rate"—cannot be equated with "plunging."

He also stated that claiming it was only true for Gangnam implies his mention of other areas was wrong, but he had only referred to Seoul's prime areas—specifically Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa—adding that the report was fake news as well.

Following the President's rebuttal, Representative Kim Jae-sub of the People Power Party, representing Seoul's Dobong-A district, questioned, "Does the President still see only the three Gangnam districts as prime areas?" Meanwhile, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok claimed, "It amounts to a confession that the administration's real estate policy goal is merely to crack down on Gangnam."

President Lee later visited a public redevelopment site in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, where he continued to speak on housing prices.

[President Lee Jae-myung : "At any rate, South Korea faces the fundamental issue of concentration in the capital region, meaning land is limited while the population keeps growing. In any case, it is clear that this has a negative impact on housing prices."]

President Lee called for measures to revitalize public redevelopment, stressing the need for swift housing supply.

(Camera by Jeong Sang-bo and Yoon Hyeong | Video Editing by Yoo Mi-ra | Design by Han Heung-soo and Park Tae-young)