Ha Junkyung, senior presidential secretary for economic growth, said on the 13th that "about 1.5 million dwellings could break ground within the government's term."
Appearing that afternoon on CBS Radio's "Park Jae-hong's One Shot," Ha said in this package "new residential land totals about 100,000 dwellings, with about 27,000 specifically released," adding, "We have completed almost all consultations with related agencies, and there are volumes we can additionally announce within the year."
On supply volumes that can move-in dates forward, Ha said, "We are pushing so that phase-2 and phase-3 new towns can be put on the market faster," adding, "For phase-2 new towns, we will ensure at least 3,000 units per year after 2028 within this administration, and for phase-3 new towns, at least 10,000 units per year will be offered."
On using the Yongsan Children's Park residential site as a supply parcel, Ha said, "When the presidential office was in Yongsan, I saw it every day. It's a large tract, but very few people used it," adding, "We need to discuss the best use of land of this size in this location, and I think supplying dwellings there is very necessary." He added, "The relevant ministries are working very closely with the Seoul city government."
Regarding criticism that youth support such as the "Youth Future Bogeumjari Loan" has focused on non-apartment housing, he said, "For apartments, there are many policy loan programs such as the Bogeumjari Loan and the newborn special loan," and explained, "We are thinking that young people can buy and live in relatively inexpensive dwellings first, then move to better places once they have more financial room." He added, "We are designing it so that buying a non-apartment will not disadvantage them in subscription screenings."
The Youth Future Bogeumjari Loan is a policy loan available when a homebuyer age 39 or under without a home purchases a non-apartment such as an officetel or villa priced at 400 million won or less.
On the tax reform plan, Ha said, "In our case, it is true that rates were set considerably lower than in advanced countries, and compared with taxes on income earned through labor, taxes on money earned from dwellings were lower," adding, "So there is a strong view that we should restore some balance to enhance tax fairness."
He added, "Even so, because homes are tied to housing welfare, it is hard to raise all rates uniformly, so for properties that are not ultra-high-priced dwellings, we designed the plan so that taxes would actually be lower than before."
On criticism that this higher property tax burden could be passed on to renters, Ha said, "Homes priced at 2.1 billion won or more are affected, and especially those in the 4 billion won range and above will see higher taxes," adding, "From the tenant's standpoint (in those dwellings), there is a possibility they will feel anxious (due to requests to vacate), and we are closely monitoring that as well."
On the goal of the current administration's real estate policy, Ha emphasized, "It is not appropriate to set the market price itself as a policy goal," adding, "While we do look at whether prices are reasonable compared with income, what ultimately matters is enabling people to live without paying much attention to real estate."