President Lee Jae-myung plans to hold an "all-out debate" on property issues in mid-July, bringing together experts and citizens. Ahead of the announcement of the tax law revision in July, President Lee will preside over a public forum that will discuss not only tax reforms such as the property holding tax and capital gains tax, but also housing supply expansion and lending regulations. The event will take the form of a town hall gathering property experts, end users, investors, licensed real estate agents and even mom café operators. If this is an attempt by the president to sit face to face with citizens and discuss property issues without reservation, it is worthy of recognition.
The Presidential Office's decision to play the all-out debate card likely stems from an unsettling public mood over property. The jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) supply-demand index hit 122.5 last week, the highest in five years and six months, while Seoul apartment prices have risen for 72 consecutive weeks. The June 27 measures, this administration's first property policy, will soon mark one year, but the limits of demand suppression have now been confirmed in the figures. Amid this, slow housing supply is making the property market even more unstable. The government has put forward supply plans utilizing sites such as the Gwacheon racetrack, the Defense Counterintelligence Command site, the Yongsan International Business District and the Taereung golf course, but the projects have failed to gain momentum. Many point out that hurdles such as permit procedures, transportation measures and resident acceptance, as well as political conflicts between the government and local governments, are holding them back.
Since President Lee is personally taking part in the all-out debate, it would be good if practical action plans emerged on how to build more homes faster, rather than tax disputes. For this forum not to end as merely an occasion to explain the need for tax increases, open debate is necessary. In particular, it must face the fact that what the market wants is supply, not regulation. In that respect, a recently readable shift in the Presidential Office's perception draws attention. Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, raised even the possibility of utilizing semi-industrial zones in the Yeongdeungpo and Guro areas at a Kwanhun Club debate on Tuesday, saying, "Right now, extraordinary measures are needed to the point where we have to build homes no matter what." This aligns in direction with the "build at all costs" theory advocated by the opposition and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, so if discussions between the ruling and opposition parties advance, they may find common ground on supply measures. We look forward to the government's clear will to expand housing supply and substantive cooperation with local governments.
