Minister Park Sang-woo acknowledged on the 13th that housing prices are rising, particularly in the Gangnam area, following the cancellation of the land transaction permission zone in Seoul. He said, "We will closely examine this with the Seoul city government and take appropriate action without delay if necessary."
Minister Park made this remark in response to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yeon-hee during a general meeting of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee regarding whether the lifting of the land transaction permit system influenced the rise in housing prices, particularly in Seoul's Gangnam area.
Minister Park explained, "The land transaction permit system is not a regulatory measure for the housing market; it is meant to prevent speculation on land. Applying it to the housing market is excessive. Therefore, the lifting of excessive regulations was carried out within the scope of the Seoul market's authority, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport did not actively oppose this in order to ensure the autonomy of local governments."
On the same day, Minister Park stated that he would establish thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of the bridge collapse that occurred last month in the Anseong section of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway. He noted, "The collapse at the construction site of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway is currently being investigated by an accident investigation committee to determine the cause of the accident," adding, "We will conduct a transparent and objective investigation into the cause through private experts, while ensuring that similar accidents do not happen again by establishing thorough measures to prevent recurrence."
Minister Park added, "We will provide sufficient support for funerals, medical expenses, living assistance, legal advice, etc., so that the injured and bereaved families can recover from the pain of the accident and return to their daily lives as soon as possible."
Minister Park emphasized that the construction method used at the accident site, the girder construction method, will be repeatedly confirmed for safety. He said, "I understand that girder equipment can be installed up to 55 meters in length, but given the safety of the construction method and the ongoing occurrence of similar accidents, we will treat it as a special management target," adding, "We will reconsider what measures can be taken to ensure safe construction." He also said, "I think this is a vulnerable construction method related to the method where the accident occurred, and if its use is unavoidable, it will be used under strengthened safety standards and supervision."
Minister Park stated regarding the audit results of the feasibility study for the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway that he confirmed the management of the service was inadequate and also verified that parts of the work performance plan were deleted before being submitted to the National Assembly. He said, "We will recover the unjustly paid service fee of 3.3 billion won and demand punishment and disciplinary action against seven related individuals, including those responsible for service supervision and completion processing."