Kim Eun-hye, People Power Party senior deputy floor leader for policy, criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) for offering an out-of-place explanation regarding allegations that September statistics were deliberately omitted in the process of announcing the Oct. 15 real estate measures. The ministry explained the omission allegations by saying it could not provide statistics prepared before a policy is made public.
Kim, the senior deputy floor leader, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 20th and said, "Do not think of blinding the public's eyes and ears by putting out an off-the-mark explanation to cover the Oct. 15 blunder. Even now, withdraw the application of the regulated area."
Regarding the absence of September statistics in the Oct. 15 package, Kim said, "When designating a speculative overheating district, there was a significant change in the statistics, which are a legally essential condition," adding, "When there is a change in the targets for speculative overheating districts, the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), who is the chairperson of the Housing Policy Deliberation Committee (Jujeongsim) and the policy decision-maker, could have judged and reset the policy."
Kim added, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) could have delayed the announcement by even a day but did not," and emphasized, "Civilian members are already provided in advance with confidential matters related to housing policy for deliberation, so it is hard to accept the ministry's claim that information was restricted only for the September statistics on the grounds that they are civilians."
Kim said, "The Jujeongsim was established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to deliberate major matters concerning residential policy, and since it directly appointed petition-handling commissioners, there is room for dispute over whether they should be regarded as private individuals," adding, "It is regrettable that the ministry's explanatory material is not an explanation but an excuse. By distributing irrelevant material that says it must not be provided to private individuals, it is evading the point."
The People Power Party will file an administrative lawsuit to cancel the disposition in order to repeal the Oct. 15 real estate measures. Kim, the senior deputy floor leader, said, "We sought legal advice from several legal professionals, and the answers were unexpected," adding, "They said it was a matter of common sense before legal review."