Government and Public Opinion Watch... KB Real Estate Statistics 'Suspended → Resumed' Incident

Suspicion of KB Halting Statistics Due to Government Pressure
Reverses to "Statistics Announcement" After Public Backlash
KB Apologizes, "Sorry for the Confusion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] KB Kookmin Bank decided to stop compiling the 'Sales and Jeonse Transaction Index,' which it had been announcing weekly, but reversed its position to provide it again after strong public backlash.

It is analyzed that KB Kookmin Bank hesitated between the government and public opinion, causing an incident where an innocent statistic was stopped and then revived.

On the 26th, KB Kookmin Bank issued a press release stating, "We have decided to resume providing the real estate statistics for the sales and Jeonse transaction index, which had been suspended since the 19th, starting from the afternoon of the 26th."

They added, "This decision reflects the demand from various sectors for the relevant statistical index," and apologized, saying, "We are sorry for causing confusion among the media and statistics users."

Previously, KB Kookmin Bank had announced through its recent housing market trend survey results that it would provide the sales and Jeonse transaction index statistics only until October 12.

This index is compiled through surveys of licensed real estate agents nationwide and measures how active or sluggish sales and Jeonse transactions are on a scale from 0 to 200. A value exceeding 100 indicates a higher proportion of 'activity.'

When KB Kookmin Bank suddenly stopped compiling the statistics it had been releasing since July 2003, the industry speculated that it might have been due to government pressure.

In fact, during a recent National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, criticism was directed mainly by opposition lawmakers regarding the large gap between the private statistics from KB Kookmin Bank and those from the Korea Appraisal Board under the Ministry.

In response, Minister Kim Hyun-mi of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport remarked, "Since the Kookmin Bank statistics are based on asking prices, there is bound to be a gap with the Appraisal Board," thereby downplaying the KB statistics.

KB Kookmin Bank explained that amid the controversy, they judged the index, which is based on licensed real estate agent surveys, to have less significance compared to accurate actual transaction volume statistics, and thus decided to suspend its release.

With KB Kookmin Bank reversing its stance on stopping the statistics within just a few days, it is expected to be difficult to avoid criticism that it was hedging between public opinion and the government.