Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi (second from left) is greeting after finishing a briefing on support measures for housing stability for low-income and middle-class citizens at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 19th. Photo by Asia Economy
[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Recently, voices criticizing Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi, saying "The water in Ilsan will become clear only if Minister Kim Hyun-mi disappears," have been rising in online communities, with increasing calls for her replacement.
On the 22nd, an article suggesting that Minister Kim Hyun-mi's replacement is likely amid the imminent reshuffle of the Moon Jae-in administration was posted on a local community composed of Ilsan residents, and cynical reactions toward the minister flooded the comments.
Some netizens harshly criticized, saying, "Kim Hyun-mi should leave both the minister position and Ilsan," "There is no one to protect Ilsan, including residents of High Park City," and "Since she raised house prices in Paju a lot, it would be wise to move to Paju."
The real estate industry stated that the government might use the card of replacing Minister Kim to recover the deteriorated public sentiment ahead of next year's Seoul mayoral by-election.
Amid worsening public sentiment due to rising house prices, Minister Kim Hyun-mi's remark, "You can buy a house with 500 million won," sparked fierce backlash in the Ilsan area. This is because the housing prices in Goyang City, which were already on the rise before the minister's comment, have recently shown stronger upward trends due to regulations. In the Goyang area, 'blind contracts' where houses are contracted without even viewing them have appeared, and in Paju, sudden contract terminations between landlords and tenants have also occurred.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system, a 146㎡ exclusive area unit in High Park City Ilsan Palmier 4 Complex, located in Deok-i-dong, Ilsan Seo-gu, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, was traded for 700 million won on the 15th. Compared to the 503 million won transaction in January this year, it has risen by nearly 200 million won.
Calls for replacing Minister Kim Hyun-mi are also emerging from civic groups. On the 20th, Kim Heon-dong, head of the Real Estate and Construction Reform Headquarters at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), expressed on his Facebook, "If anyone knows why the president cannot replace Kim Hyun-mi, please tell me," adding, "No one expects housing prices to stabilize or rents such as public jeonse to stabilize or fall due to government measures."
A Blue House petition demanding the replacement of Minister Kim Hyun-mi has also been posted. The petitioner said, "During more than twenty real estate measures, I criticized and sighed a lot while trusting the (Moon Jae-in) government, but now I no longer trust the government," and "Looking at the direction of real estate policy, I always wonder how Minister Kim Hyun-mi remains in that position."
They further urged the minister, saying, "As a founding member, she lacks the qualifications to be trusted for policy consistency," and "Please listen to the voices of the people, and let Minister Kim Hyun-mi step down from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."
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