The Reform Party filed a suit to cancel and an application to suspend the effect of the government's Oct. 15 real estate measures, which designated all of Seoul and 12 cities and districts in Gyeonggi as regulated areas (speculative overheated districts and areas subject to adjustment), saying they are unlawful. The Reform Party says that by intentionally excluding the latest September statistics and announcing the measures based on June–August figures, eight areas were included as regulated areas. The People Power Party is also alleging manipulation of statistics for the Oct. 15 measures and has foreshadowed an administrative suit separate from the Reform Party, widening the front.
Cheon Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform Party, who first raised the suspicion of statistical manipulation in the Oct. 15 measures, said in an interview at the National Assembly members' office building on the 11th, "Our goal is to win the application for suspension of effect," and added, "A result on the suspension should come before Dec. 15, and even that alone would make it hard for the government to maintain the Oct. 15 measures."
According to the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act, an area subject to adjustment may be designated "if the dwelling price increase rate for the previous three months exceeds 1.3 times (1.5 times for speculative overheated districts) the consumer price increase rate." Based on the Oct. 15 measures, the "previous three months" are July–September. Floor leader Cheon explained that applying these statistics, eight places—Jungnang, Gangbuk, Dobong and Geumcheon districts in Seoul, and Uiwang, Jungwon district in Seongnam, and Jangan and Paldal districts in Suwon, Gyeonggi—would not have been included as regulated areas.
However, by using June–August statistics instead of July–September, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport included all eight places as regulated areas. Minister Kim Yun-duk and the ministry say they could not use the September statistics because they had not been released on Oct. 13, when the Housing Policy Deliberation Committee that prepared the measures convened. The Korea Real Estate Board (KREB) released the September statistics at 2 p.m. on Oct. 15.
In response, floor leader Cheon said, "Minister Kim Yun-duk of MOLIT and the presidential office had already checked the September statistics on Oct. 14," and pointed out, "Once you have received the September statistics, it is impossible to proceed without reflecting them." The Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act stipulates that "if statistics for the relevant period are not yet available when determining whether the criteria for designating a regulated area are met, statistics for the month or year closest to that period shall be deemed the statistics for the relevant period." Floor leader Cheon said, "The decree clearly regulates cases where the latest statistics are not available at the time of disposition," adding, "It is meant to prevent the administration from treating existing statistics as if they did not exist."
He added, "When the September statistics came out, the normal process would have been to provide the updated statistics to the Housing Policy Deliberation Committee," and pointed out, "Without stopping the procedure or providing the updated information, releasing the measures shows they had already decided to regulate the entire city of Seoul and intentionally excluded the statistics."
Floor leader Cheon criticized the government for fixing the answer to bundle the entire city of Seoul as a regulated area and then tailoring the statistics, thereby infringing on the property rights of millions of people. Thirty-four citizens living in the eight regulated areas joined the administrative suit filed by the Reform Party that day. Floor leader Cheon said, "One of the plaintiffs even signed a contract to sell the home they were living in to move to another area, but after the measures were released, the buyer backed out and the moving plan collapsed," and added, "This had nothing to do with speculation; they were trying to move according to family plans, but they were blocked by the government measures and, angry, decided to join the suit."
Floor leader Cheon predicted that a result on the application to suspend effect would come within a month. If the suspension is granted, all regulations on the eight disputed areas will be lifted. Floor leader Cheon also foreshadowed additional suits. "We are conducting legal review to file suits regarding the remaining areas of the Oct. 15 measures excluding the eight," he said, adding, "Even though the remaining areas would still be subject to regulation even with the September statistics included, the very act of not including the September statistics already violated administrative procedures, so we are making a legal determination on that as well."
Floor leader Cheon projected that if the government's "intentional" exclusion of the September statistics is accepted by the court, the chances of winning are sufficient. He said, "Since the Real Estate Board said it completed the September statistics on Oct. 10 and delivered them to MOLIT and the presidential office on the 13th and 14th, it has been confirmed that the government intentionally excluded the September statistics," adding, "Barring political influence, I think the chances of winning are close to 100%."
If the application for suspension of effect is granted in mid-December, the Oct. 15 measures will be effectively gutted just two months after implementation. Could the administrative court keep the measures in place out of concern for market confusion? Floor leader Cheon said, "If the law was violated by mistake, the court would have to weigh it if correcting it would cause great confusion," and pointed out, "But in a case like this, where the law was violated with intent, if you let it pass because correcting it would cause great confusion, the rule of law collapses." He added, "If you let it pass due to concerns about confusion, it sets a precedent for the government to pick and choose statistics at any time," and said, "The court will see intent as important."
Floor leader Cheon pointed out that if the application for suspension is granted, Minister Kim Yun-duk, Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom, and even President Lee Jae-myung should be held accountable. He said, "If the suspension is granted, Minister Kim Yun-duk should not only be dismissed but also be criminally punished for abuse of authority," adding, "Since the presidential office received the statistics on Oct. 14, I think even Chief Kim Yong-beom should be held accountable."
Floor leader Cheon said, "The government could correct this simply by lifting it ex officio, but they are loudly telling us to sue to protect their pride," and added, "The government and the ruling party are blocking the property rights of millions and are taking this far too lightly. They consider protecting their pride more important than protecting the rights and interests of the people."
Floor leader Cheon also criticized Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers whose constituencies include the eight disputed areas. He said they are watching only the eyes of the "gae-ttal," the hard-core Democratic Party base, rather than protecting the interests of their constituents. He said, "They stay quiet because they think if they nitpick the Lee Jae-myung government's real estate measures, they will fall out of favor with the 'gae-ttal' and it could hurt them in the next nomination race," and added, "Lawmakers who do not work hard for the interests of their constituents should be held to account."