Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom suggested possible additional loan regulations, asking "Is it feasible to maintain the current level of leverage for apartments and non-residential multi-home ownership?" He simultaneously proposed that regulations on multi-property owners "must be pursued alongside restructuring of the rental supply system."
This comes after President Lee Jae-myung dismissed opposition criticism that multi-property regulations would reduce jeonse and monthly rental supply, worsening housing conditions for ordinary citizens, calling it "miraculous logic defending multi-property owners." The Blue House notably mentioned expanding public rental housing as an alternative, signaling potential policy implementation.
Kim posted on Facebook on the 22nd, stating "If investment-purpose leverage can transmit into financial instability, that risk cannot remain confined to the private sector." He pointed out that leverage from collateral loans and gap investment jeonse deposits used for investment purposes in the housing market could lead to a society-wide crisis.
Kim listed several measures including adjusting risk weightings for investment-purpose home purchases, phased reduction of loan-to-value ratios for non-residential multi-property loans, and differentiated maturity structures. "If such signals accumulate consistently, expected returns will be reassessed," Kim said. "What matters is not directly controlling prices but restructuring the system."
He also emphasized the need to restructure rental supply. "Under the current structure, multi-property owners' leverage has served as one pillar of effective demand for new housing and rental supply," Kim said. "If we reduce investment-purpose leverage, discussions on what will fill that gap must accompany the change."
He added that "nurturing institutional operators providing long-term stable rentals, expanding public and quasi-public rentals, and systematically supplying long-term fixed-rate financing for residential purposes could serve as alternative pillars." This appears to indicate the possibility of announcing concrete public rental expansion measures, following President Lee's earlier statement that "housing rentals should preferably be handled by the public sector, considering the national importance and public nature of housing issues."
Kim's remarks followed President Lee's criticism of opposition concerns about rental supply shortages. The previous day, President Lee posted a lengthy response on X (formerly Twitter), sharing an opposition article criticizing the "multi-property owner loan extension regulations." This was a direct rebuttal to People Power Party Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon's comment that "if rental supply contracts and jeonse-monthly rent instability recurs due to multi-property owner regulations, the responsibility lies entirely with the president."
President Lee began his post asking "Are you worried that housing conditions for ordinary citizens will worsen if multi-property owners or rental business operators reduce their holdings through sales?" He wrote, "Would expanding multi-home ownership and rental businesses beyond current levels stabilize housing for ordinary citizens?"
He continued, "When multi-property owners or rental business operators sell their homes, jeonse and monthly rental supply will decrease, but demand from non-homeowners—that is, jeonse and monthly rental demand—will decrease proportionally." He noted, "It's strange to highlight only the reduction in rental supply when demand decreases simultaneously with supply."
This is interpreted to mean that increased listings in the housing sales market would stabilize home prices, allowing end-user buyers to purchase, while reduced rental demand would stabilize jeonse and monthly rent prices.
Since last month, President Lee has been saying he would reduce various benefits for multi-property owners and strengthen loan regulations, urging them to "sell now as this is the last chance." However, as concerns about worsening housing conditions for ordinary citizens persisted despite the president's explanations, Kim appears to have outlined plans for restructuring rental supply.
The opposition fired back, calling the insistence that "the public sector should handle housing rentals" a "declaration of a controlled economy that ultimately blocks citizens' asset accumulation and places them under state control."
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk posted on Facebook the same day, stating "Non-homeowners cannot buy homes not because multi-property owners have taken all the houses, but because this administration's loan regulations have tied their hands and feet." He added, "Many young people want to start with jeonse or monthly rent rather than buying a home from the start. Some circumstances require renting, such as studying abroad or short-term assignments."
He strongly criticized it as "gaslighting intended to trap citizens as lifetime government rental tenants."