The Democratic Party of Korea said on the 26th that it has "not reviewed" the so-called "3+3+3" amendment to the Housing Lease Protection Act, which would allow jeonse tenants to maintain their contracts for up to nine years through the right to request contract renewal.
Park Su-hyeon, the party's chief spokesperson, said at a press briefing that, when asked about the party's position on the "3+3+3 law," "We have not yet reviewed such a specific policy proposal."
However, Park said, "A system is always supplemented and developed based on on-the-ground outcomes," adding, "Even if a system has not been (specifically) proposed, we will thoroughly review it through the party's real estate task force and the relevant standing committees."
Earlier, Han Chang-min, leader of The Social Democratic Party of Korea, as the lead sponsor, introduced an amendment to the lease protection law that would extend the lease term from the current two years to three years and increase the number of times the right to request contract renewal can be used to two, allowing contracts to be maintained for up to nine years (three-year contract period + three-year renewal period + additional three-year renewal period).
Co-sponsors of the amendment included Democratic Party lawmakers as well as lawmakers from the broader pro-government camp such as the Rebuilding Korea Party and The Progressive Party.
Regarding this, Lee Un-ju, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said on Facebook, "The bill has nothing to do with the party platform and is far from the Democratic Party's basic direction," adding, "While the bill's original intent is understood to be the protection of tenants, if actually implemented, it could instead cause a sharp rise in jeonse prices and accelerate the shift to monthly rent, ultimately creating concerns that it would run counter to tenant protection."
Lee went on to say, "The 3+3+3 amendment is controversial for reasons including excessive restrictions on property rights," adding, "As similar cases, in Dec. last year The Progressive Party introduced a bill allowing unlimited renewal requests for leases that was later scrapped, and in Mar. this year a housing policy proposed by some within the party to 'extend jeonse contracts for up to 10 years' was excluded from the 20 key livelihood agendas for people in their 20s."
She added, "At the time, President Lee Jae-myung, who was the party leader, also, after consulting the leadership, announced that '(the 10-year maximum extension of jeonse contracts) is not the party's official position and, personally, I do not think it is desirable,'" adding, "Therefore, I believe the possibility of this bill being realized is close to zero, and I would say do not be overly worried by linking this bill to the government's real estate measures."