"Land Prices Increased the Most Since 1990 Under Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in Governments"

Analysis by Gyeong Sil Ryeon on Private Land Price Increase Since 1990
Average Annual Increase Under Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in Governments Nine Times That of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye
Criticism of Inconsistent Land Price Statistics Across Agencies

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] An analysis has emerged showing that land prices increased the most during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations since 1990.

According to the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) on the 21st, privately owned land prices rose from 1,484 trillion won at the end of 1990 to 1,010.4 quadrillion won at the end of 2019, an increase of 8,620 trillion won, or 6.8 times, over 29 years. The average annual increase was 297 trillion won.

The period with the largest increase was the Roh Moo-hyun administration, with a total rise of 3,123 trillion won. Next was the Moon Jae-in administration from 2016 to 2019, during which land prices increased by 2,669 trillion won. The Moon Jae-in administration recorded the highest average annual increase of 890 trillion won among all administrations.

The increase in privately owned land prices by administration was as follows: ▶Roh Tae-woo 380 trillion won (4%) ▶Kim Young-sam 383 trillion won (4%) ▶Kim Dae-jung 1,153 trillion won (13%) ▶Roh Moo-hyun 3,123 trillion won (36%) ▶Lee Myung-bak -195 trillion won (-2%) ▶Park Geun-hye 1,107 trillion won (13%) ▶Moon Jae-in 2,669 trillion won (31%). The average annual increases were ▶Roh Tae-woo 190 trillion won ▶Kim Young-sam 77 trillion won ▶Kim Dae-jung 231 trillion won ▶Roh Moo-hyun 625 trillion won ▶Lee Myung-bak -39 trillion won ▶Park Geun-hye 277 trillion won ▶Moon Jae-in 890 trillion won.

CCEJ explained, "Especially when compared to the average annual increase of about 100 trillion won during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, when real estate prices stabilized downward, the increase during the Moon Jae-in administration is nine times higher," adding, "67% of the increase since 1990 occurred during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations."

CCEJ also criticized the inconsistent land price statistics for the Moon Jae-in administration across different institutions. There are significant differences between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's announcements and those of the Bank of Korea, and the reported land price increase rates vary by institution.

The 1,010.4 quadrillion won land price announced by CCEJ differs by 3,514 trillion won and 5,759 trillion won from the Bank of Korea's 6,590 trillion won and the Ministry of Land's official land price of 4,345 trillion won, respectively.

A CCEJ official pointed out, "Despite investing a massive budget of 180 billion won, land price statistics fail to properly reflect market prices, and even the results differ among ministries," adding, "It is difficult to accurately diagnose the real estate market based on these statistics."

CCEJ emphasized that the government must confront the reality of the highest land price increases in history and propose fundamental solutions. To this end, they argue that the basis for calculating official land prices, land prices by province, and related data should be transparently disclosed and subject to verification. A CCEJ official stated, "To resolve the surge in real estate prices, measures such as the full implementation of the price ceiling system for pre-sale prices and doubling the official land price should be proposed as anti-speculation policies."