On the 7th, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee proposed the "Bus House" program, which would remodel buses slated for scrapping and provide them as short-term housing for students in college districts, as a youth housing measure.
On the afternoon of the 7th, Hwang posted on his Facebook a piece titled "Bus House proposal," saying, "I propose a program to remodel buses slated for scrapping into living spaces and provide them as short-term housing for students in college districts."
On the background of the proposal, he said, "Because the government's policy to supply dwellings relies heavily on the private sector, its pace can be slow," and noted, "Until young people secure stable dwellings, this can be used as temporary housing, and it also has the advantage of being supplied quickly, so I believe it is well worth thorough review."
Hwang said, "Even if we set the remodeling expense at about 50 million won, for 10,000 units the total would be only about 500 billion won." He added, "To improve mobility and accessibility, we also need to consider ways to use spaces in college districts or around subway stations," emphasizing, "Depending on time and place, there would also be the advantage of being easy to move as a matter of policy."
Meanwhile, after the "Bus House" proposal, as criticism spread primarily among young people, Hwang deleted the post and moved to explain. Immediately after the post went up, reactions online included, "Are you treating young people like refugees?" and "Who would want to live on a bus?"
Park Chung-kwon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, also said in a commentary that day, "Is this a measure for the youth, the future of the nation?" and added, "Lawmaker Hwang and his family should show an example by moving in immediately as the first residents of the 'Bus House.'" He continued, "Amid the hell of youth unemployment, the hell of jeonse fraud and loans, and the hell of soaring real estate, failing to even build a proper housing supply network and telling young people to live short term by remodeling scrapped buses is a clear insult to the younger generation."
In response, Hwang explained that it was "at the level of a pure idea." Hwang said, "Many young people live in poor housing conditions such as gosiwon," adding, "This is at the idea level of preparing a space where they can live temporarily until they secure proper housing." He added, "It is about enriching ideas, and it is even less the case that the government is pushing a policy."