[Visiting the Hot Zone] Worse Than the 'Moon Administration's Failures'... Economic Experts Slam the Desk and Enter the Political Arena

Interview with Yoo Kyung-jun, United Future Party Candidate Running for Gangnam District Governor

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "The government is drastically increasing property taxes even for households owning two homes. If they want people to sell, they need to provide an exit route, but capital gains taxes are also extremely high. Isn't this a punitive policy against the wealthy? People who own two or three houses can also be seen as providers of jeonse (long-term lease) supply, but if both real estate taxes and comprehensive real estate holding taxes are raised, jeonse prices will rise. Housing prices increased the most during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations. Hostile policies against the rich to rally support are not the best approach."

Yoo Kyung-joon, the United Future Party candidate for Gangnam-byeong, raised his voice of criticism in an interview with Asia Economy on the 1st, saying, "This government's policies all cause conflict; they are not 'policies' but 'politics.'"

His name, who is in charge of the Gangnam-byeong district, may sound somewhat unfamiliar to those not interested in economics. Born in 1961, Yoo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics in 1985, earned a Ph.D. in labor economics from Cornell University in 1995, served as a research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) as an economist, and was the Commissioner of Statistics Korea for two years starting July 2015. In February, he also served as the president of the Korean Labor Economics Association.

Although known as the younger brother of Yoo Ki-joon, a pro-Park Geun-hye politician, Yoo preferred to be recognized as an expert in economic policy rather than by his family ties. He also criticized the Moon Jae-in administration’s failures from an academic perspective. Yoo said, "(The Moon administration’s failures) pulled me, who has long been involved in policy, into politics," adding, "I wanted to develop the country through good policies, but since this is turning into politics rather than policy, I wondered, 'Should I also enter politics?'"

Gangnam-byeong is a traditional stronghold of the United Future Party. Therefore, the pressure is greater. There is an atmosphere that "winning is a given." Yoo said, "Even though it is due to conservative division, having a mayor from the Democratic Party in Gangnam-gu was unthinkable in the past. So, we cannot be complacent," adding, "Gangnam is a region where conservatives are strong, so if I just win, I won’t have much to say in the National Assembly. Many people urged me to 'win by a landslide' during the campaign."

There were also noises during the nomination process before he was finally selected as the candidate for Gangnam-byeong. Incumbent lawmaker Lee Eun-jae was cut off (excluded from nomination), and the nomination of young candidate Kim Mi-gyun was reversed. Yoo also felt the aftermath of the 'nomination turmoil.' He said, "When I went around greeting people, some asked, 'Is it definitely decided this time?' and I also heard that it was fortunate that things were well settled."

Yoo judged that the hottest issue in Gangnam-byeong for this general election is real estate. He explained, "Gangnam-gu has many elderly people, wealthy residents, and successful individuals. In Daechi-dong’s academy district, there are young couples who moved in on jeonse and are very interested in their children’s education. Since the Moon administration rapidly increased wealth taxes, real estate taxes, and comprehensive real estate holding taxes, people feel a sense of crisis. They hope an expert who understands the economy well will impose a tax bomb."

The groundbreaking of the Samsung-dong Global Business Center (GBC), estimated to have an economic effect of 265 trillion won, is also an issue. Yoo said, "The groundbreaking should happen, but it keeps getting delayed. The GBC is a major project related to Gangnam area development and reconstruction. There are many apartments that should undergo reconstruction, such as Eunma Apartment, Mido, Ssangyong, and Lucky, but Seoul city is not granting permits without clear reasons. We see this as a potential infringement on private property rights and are reviewing specific countermeasures." He is also considering measures for young couples interested in their children’s education. He said, "Many young couples who want to send their children to good schools through quality private education have moved here, but they face high private education costs along with housing. We are also thinking about ways to innovatively reduce private education expenses originating from Gangnam."