Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said of the government's "Oct. 15 housing market stabilization measures," "There are areas where dwelling prices have not risen for 2 to 3 years, and this is an excessive step."
Mayor Oh said this at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit held at Seoul City Hall on Oct. 20. This conflicts with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's remark at the time of the announcement that it had "sufficiently consulted with the Seoul Metropolitan Government."
On Oct. 15, the government announced measures designating all 25 districts across Seoul as regulated areas, including adjustment target areas and overheated speculation zones, as well as land transaction permit zones. As a result, gap investment (buying with a jeonse tenant in place) is effectively banned across Seoul, and the limit on dwelling mortgage loans has been significantly tightened. For apartments priced over 1.5 billion won and under 2.4 billion won, the loan limit is 400 million won; for apartments over 2.4 billion won, the limit is 200 million won.
In response to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Hee-jung about whether there had been sufficient discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government before the announcement of these regulations, Oh said, "Regarding the issue of designating (the entire city of Seoul) as overheated speculation zones and adjustment target areas, they sought our opinion, and we replied that prudence would be advisable."
He added, "(However,) before designating land transaction permit zones, we received a phone call right before the announcement and were unilaterally notified," and "Had there been sufficient prior discussions, we would have liked to present the Seoul Metropolitan Government's position."