First Vice Minister Lee Sang-kyung of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport offered to resign on the afternoon of the 24th. The decision is seen as a response to worsening public opinion over alleged "gap investment."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a notice to the press that "the Vice Minister has expressed an intention to resign."
Earlier, the Vice Minister appeared on a YouTube channel on the 19th and said, in effect, that "if the market stabilizes thanks to government policy, then you can buy a home," drawing strong criticism.
At the time, Lee said, "If home prices stay at current levels, it is advantageous to buy a home later, after income rises and asset builds up."
On the 20th, immediately after the government rolled out strong measures such as designating 25 districts in Seoul and 12 areas in Gyeonggi, including Gwacheon and Bundang, as land transaction permit zones, the remarks prompted criticism as inappropriate. At the time of the remarks, first-time homebuyers without homes were suffering due to the government's stringent lending curbs and difficulty purchasing dwellings.
On top of that, it came to light that the spouse bought an apartment worth around 3.3 billion won last year with a jeonse tenant in place, fueling suspicions of "gap investment."
The Vice Minister's spouse, a person surnamed Han, signed a contract in July last year to purchase a 117-square-meter apartment at Pangyo Prugio Grand Bleu in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, for 3.35 billion won. Then, before paying the balance in December, a jeonse contract worth 1.48 billion won was signed, revealing indications of "gap investment" in which the jeonse deposit was used to pay the balance.
The Vice Minister explained that "the spouse purchased it for actual residence."
On the 23rd of this month, the Vice Minister said in a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport YouTube livestream, "As a senior public official at the ministry, I sincerely apologize for hurting the public's feelings," but public opinion remained cold. The roughly two-minute statement ended without a Q&A, drawing criticism as a "perfunctory apology."