President Lee Jae-myung said at a New Year news conference on the 21st that he will announce a plan to supply dwellings soon. On the won-dollar exchange rate, he offered the outlook that "in a month or two it will fall to around 1,400 won," and on real estate taxation, under the premise of it being a "last resort," he said, "There is no reason not to use it."
Lee held the New Year news conference on the morning of the 21st at the state guesthouse in Cheong Wa Dae. It ran for nearly three hours, exceeding the originally scheduled 90 minutes.
Lee stated positions on several economic pending issues, including the exchange rate, real estate, and the transfer of the Yongin semiconductor cluster to Saemangeum. Asked about measures to resolve the exchange-rate issue, Lee said, "According to the responsible authorities, in a month or two it is expected to fall to around 1,400 won," adding, "The won's exchange rate is linked to the yen's to some extent, and compared with Japan, our depreciation has been milder."
Lee added, "The exchange rate is not a phenomenon unique to Korea, so it is difficult to return only Korea to its original state," and said, "We will continue to find feasible measures and work to stabilize the exchange rate."
Asked about real estate measures, Lee said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will soon announce a plan to supply dwellings," adding, "We will present concrete and realistic figures rather than abstract ones." On using taxation to curb home prices, Lee said, "It is not desirable," but added, "If it becomes necessary, there is no reason not to use it just because it is not desirable."
Lee directly mentioned the property holding tax. Lee said, "Some say that since imposing a holding tax may be politically inappropriate and burdensome, we should apply it only above 5 billion won," and added, "If the situation goes beyond an appropriate level and becomes a social problem, of course tax measures should be mobilized." However, Lee added, "I have said we would refrain from using taxes to rein in home prices as much as possible, and it would be better to use them as a last resort," continuing, "For now, I do not strongly agree with pursuing real estate policy through the tax code."
On the argument to transfer the Yongin semiconductor cluster to Saemangeum, Lee said, "It is not easy to overturn the government's policy," but left room by adding, "We can persuade or induce."
Lee pointed to power and water issues regarding the Yongin semiconductor cluster and laid out the principle of "local production, local consumption (jisan-jiso)." Jisan-jiso is the concept of producing energy where it will be used. To operate the Yongin semiconductor cluster, electricity produced in the southern region would have to be brought to Yongin through transmission towers, and Lee expressed a negative view of this plan.
Lee said, "They say the Yongin semiconductor cluster needs 13 gigawatts of power, which would require 10 nuclear power plants. Are we going to build nuclear plants in Yongin?" Lee added, "It is not easy to handle by building a few gas-fired power plants, so we need to persuade and help people understand these points to make it beneficial for the corporations."
Regarding the recent daily rise of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), Lee said it is "on the way back to normal," adding, "It is important not to artificially prop up stock prices but to normalize them to increase the people's assets." On retirement pensions, Lee said, "Their returns are lower than bank interest," adding, "Retirement pensions are important assets for old age, so we should discuss whether it is right to let them be wasted like this. Turning them into a fund is one option, but if the majority does not want it, we will not do it."