Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said regarding the government-hosted public debate on real estate policy that the core agenda should be supply and stability in jeonse and monthly rents, not who should bear more taxes.
On the 12th, Oh said on Facebook in a post titled "National debate on real estate policy: The core agenda must be supply and stability in jeonse and monthly rents" that "judging from the example debate topics the president presented on social media, I am concerned this grand debate may once again become a venue where discussion focuses on 'who should bear more taxes,'" and stated accordingly.
Oh emphasized, "What the public wants is not supply plans presented only in numbers, but effective policies that can give the market confidence in expanded supply," adding, "The market stabilizes only when there is trust in supply."
He went on, "Redevelopment and reconstruction projects are the most certain supply measures that can build many more homes," and said, "If these projects do not proceed on time, new dwellings supply is blocked and demand inevitably concentrates only in the existing housing market." He added, "How to improve practical obstacles such as loan regulations that are blocking these projects must be addressed as a core agenda item."
Oh also said, "The most urgent issue for young people, newlyweds, and working-class residents is a home they can move into and live in stably right now," and urged measures to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market, saying, "We must also discuss how to solve the reality in which jeonse listings are decreasing and the burden of monthly rents is growing." He pointed out, "What people struggle with most is the reality that both home prices and jeonse and monthly rent prices are soaring together," adding, "A debate that sidesteps the realities about which the public voices the greatest pain can hardly be considered one that listens to voices from the ground."
Oh, however, said, "I welcome the fact that the president and the government are holding a public debate to hear directly the public's voices on real estate issues," and said, "It is fortunate that such a forum for discussion has been arranged, even now." He added, "I hope this debate will faithfully capture the public's urgent voices and become a starting point for crafting practical solutions that the public can tangibly feel as change."
The government will hold real estate-related debates from the 14th to the 16th, with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Finance and Economy each covering supply, finance, and taxation. Then on the 23rd, at a national debate attended by the president, it will synthesize the earlier views and discuss the future direction of real estate policy.