Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 14th urged the government to ease redevelopment rules and lending curbs, saying, "The most ordinary yet urgent dream of 'securing a home of one's own' is being trampled under the name of the Oct. 15 measures."
Oh said in a Facebook post that day, "The government can no longer turn a blind eye to the side effects of the Oct. 15 real estate measures," adding, "It touted housing stability, but the reality is the exact opposite. It is squeezing the very breathing room of genuine end users trying to buy a home."
He also said, "The loan limit has been sharply reduced, and the expansion of regulated areas and various restrictions have abnormally raised the threshold of the sales market," adding, "As a result, transaction froze, and demand pushed out of purchases flocked to jeonse, but even that has dried up. Far from easing housing anxiety, it has only stoked it."
He continued, "I recently met with the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and clearly conveyed this reality. But regrettably, it was hard to find the government's resolve to correct the side effects of the Oct. 15 measures," adding, "While asking the city for cooperation to secure supply volume, the government did not provide a clear answer on regulations that distort the market."
He then said, "I ask the government once again. Even now, it must face reality and start by changing what can be fixed immediately," adding, "Ease the excessive regulations that block redevelopment projects, and immediately shift loan policies that treat end users like speculators."
Citing income-led growth pursued under the Moon Jae-in administration, Oh said, "Experiments that use people's lives as 'collateral' have always led to the same ending. Even if a policy starts with good intentions, if its outcome is harmful, it is a bad policy," adding, "If we have already experienced this once, this time should be different."