[Q&A] Vice Minister of Economy and Finance: "Real Estate Supervisory Agency to Punish Price Manipulation, False Listings, and Housing Price Collusion"

Briefing on the 13th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government announced that it will detect and punish real estate market price manipulation, false listings, and housing price collusion through a real estate market supervision organization.

On the morning of the 13th, Kim Yong-beom, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office during the '13th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting' and stated, "There is a need to further strengthen the detection and punishment functions for price manipulation, false listings, and housing price collusion."

Vice Minister Kim explained, "Regarding the establishment of a real estate supervision organization, inter-ministerial reviews are currently underway."

▲The government has evaluated that the 'real estate market is stabilizing,' but there are criticisms that this perception is far from the market reality. What is the basis for saying that housing prices are stabilizing?

=With the June 17 measures, restrictions on jeonse loan guarantees were strengthened, bans on mortgage loans for sales and rental businesses were implemented, and requirements for moving in for mortgage loans were tightened to block gap investments. Supplementary measures for housing purchases through corporations were also introduced. Speculative cases such as gap investments and housing purchases through corporations are clearly decreasing. Legislative uncertainty has been resolved as legislation on real estate taxation has been completed. A single tax rate of 6% will be applied to multi-home corporations, and since the tax burden cap and the basic deduction of 600 million KRW will be abolished, a significant amount of housing held in corporate form is expected to be sold or converted to individual businesses. Since corporate income tax benefits will also end, a considerable volume of rental housing that is automatically deregistered annually is expected to be supplied to the housing market as listings.

▲Regarding reconstruction, are there any plans being considered to encourage participation from association members?

=The Seoul Metropolitan Government will continue to hold briefings related to public participation-type high-density reconstruction. There have been considerable achievements in redevelopment, and the number of places expressing willingness to proceed is increasing. We will strive to have complexes where the members' intentions are gathered concretely by August or September.

▲Exports have declined again; is there a particular reason? Could this act as a limiting factor for economic rebound in the third quarter?

=Export statistics for August have been released up to the 10th. There was about a one-day difference in the number of days. Also, August 17 was designated as a temporary holiday, making the situation challenging. Monthly totals should consider daily circumstances, but we will do our best to ensure that export performance by date does not lag behind July.

▲The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommended increasing the proportion of vocational training over fiscal jobs. Does the new job activation plan reflect this trend?

=There are government-run workforce development programs such as the Employment Success Package and incumbent worker retraining. If new jobs are added, there will be an effect of receiving financial support through various vocational training programs.