Lee Vows Housing Price Stability as Key to Administration's Success

President Lee Jae-myung signaled a strong commitment to stabilizing the real estate market on the 22nd, as Seoul apartment prices have begun to cool following a series of government property policies.

President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he has "ordered the exclusion of public officials who own non-resident high-value homes or multiple properties from the discussion, drafting, reporting, and approval processes for housing and real estate policies." He pointed out that "the problem lies with public officials who have created tax, financial, and regulatory policies that favor those who own more homes." The president emphasized that "stabilizing real estate, especially housing prices, is a matter on which the success or failure of this administration depends."

According to public official asset disclosures, 12 out of 56 senior officials at the vice ministerial level or higher at the presidential office owned multiple properties as of last month. However, some of these cases may be far from speculative, such as homes where parents or children reside. Restricting public officials' participation in policy-making based on personal property holdings raises concerns about potential conflicts with constitutional guarantees of freedom of occupation and the principle of equality. Controversy may also arise over the scope of multi-property officials to be excluded from policy decision-making and how to limit their official duties.

President Lee has continued to issue strong messages targeting multi-property owners, stating "this is the last chance" and "if you resist government policies, both individuals and society will suffer." He also criticized those "who feel sorry for the tears of multi-property owners," asking "they say money is the devil—could the devil have stolen even their last shred of conscience?"

However, as seen during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations, the difficulty lies in the fact that a president's strong resolve alone does not stabilize the real estate market. Furthermore, while the government is moving to impose lending restrictions on single-home owners who do not reside in their properties, genuine homebuyers who cannot live in their own homes due to children's education or work locations may face unfair consequences.

There is no reason to doubt President Lee's determination to eradicate the chronic problem of real estate speculation and stabilize housing prices. However, for that determination to produce actual results, the government must not lose sight of the fact that the foremost goal of real estate policy is residential stability. Above all, it is urgent to accelerate legislative and administrative procedures to ensure rapid and sufficient supply in areas where demand is concentrated. Market confidence can only be gained by providing assurance that quality housing will be adequately supplied in areas where genuine homebuyers need it.