Jang Dong-hyuk, chairman of the ruling People Power Party, criticized the government's real estate policy stance, saying "wanting to move to a bigger home is not a sin" and "proper real estate policy cannot emerge from treating property owners as sinners."
Jang held a town hall meeting on Sunday at Haenuri Town in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, as part of the party's Special Committee for Real Estate Policy Normalization.
"The president has called homeowners devils so many times that I was worried how many devil-like people would be here today," Jang joked at the opening.
"The people gathered here today are simply citizens who work hard, buy a home, pay off their mortgage, raise children, and send them to academies while living honest, ordinary lives," he said. "I don't think it's a sin to want to educate your children in a better environment or to want a bigger home as your children grow up. These are natural desires."
"Proper policy cannot come from treating people who own multiple properties for various unavoidable reasons as sinners," Jang said. "Real estate typically accounts for the largest portion of our assets, so when real estate policy goes wrong, our lives become extremely difficult and the entire economy is significantly affected."
Jang raised his voice against authorities for ignoring the reality of Seoul's real estate market. "The numbers already show that Seoul's real estate market is falling into disarray, but the government refuses to acknowledge it," he said.
"Through today's meeting, we will listen to the voices of ordinary citizens who work hard every day and translate them into legislation and policy," he pledged.