Lee Hae-chan "Apologies for Real Estate Market Instability... Preparing Fundamental Solutions"

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader, are attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 3rd, "The real estate market has been very unstable recently, and I sincerely apologize to the public."

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Lee said, "Currently, domestic household liquidity exceeds 1,500 trillion won, so investment naturally concentrates on assets such as stocks and real estate. It is clear that emergency measures relying solely on regional regulations and financial regulations have limitations."

He added, "Housing is a condition for a stable life, so it is essential to strongly regulate speculative benefits and maintain a stable scale for actual demand," and said, "The party will promptly prepare fundamental and systematic measures."

He said, "As the ruling party and with 14 metropolitan governors belonging to the Democratic Party, we will take the lead," adding, "We will comprehensively review housing supply, rental business policies, and the recovery of speculative income, and establish fundamental policies to resolve home ownership and housing insecurity."

Regarding the third supplementary budget bill, Lee said, "As promised to the people, we plan to pass the third supplementary budget bill in the plenary session," and added, "With the passage of the supplementary budget, it is fortunate that we can support the common people, small and medium-sized enterprises, and self-employed businesses struggling due to the COVID-19 national crisis."

He continued, "I urge the government to promptly execute the budget starting in July," and said, "The Democratic Party will also convene a July extraordinary session of the National Assembly to swiftly review and process various livelihood issues and reform bills."

Regarding the last-minute collapse of the tripartite social agreement due to the absence of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee said, "It is very regrettable. I once again hope that a grand compromise will be reached soon," and added, "I ask both labor and management to approach this with goodwill and a long-term perspective on social compromise."