[Summary] "If apartments were bread" Kim Hyun-mi's remark... Opposition party's sharp criticism saying "It makes us chuckle"

Minister Kim: "Apartments Absolutely Need Air Volume" Expresses Difficulty Securing Supply
"Out-of-Body Expression," "Why Say This Now?" Harsh Criticism from Opposition

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi is deep in thought during the full meeting of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 30th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] On the 30th, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi expressed frustration over the difficulty of resolving the shortage of apartment supply, stating, "If apartments were bread, I would stay up all night to make them." The opposition parties strongly criticized this remark, pointing out that it contradicts Kim's past confident statements that "housing supply is sufficient."

At the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's current issues inquiry held that day, when Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Gyo-heung asked why there is a shortage of apartment supply in the jeonse (lease) measures, Minister Kim replied, "The supply volume of apartments decreased in 2021 and 2022 because the number of apartment permits drastically declined five years ago, and many public housing sites were also canceled."

She added, "If apartments were bread, I would stay up all night to bake them," and lamented, "Apartments require an absolute construction period, so even if there is a shortage of apartment supply now, the government...(finds it difficult to supply)." This was interpreted as an expression of difficulty likening the apartment supply issue, which is hard to secure in the short term, to bread.

However, the opposition criticized Kim's remarks as a form of "disconnected rhetoric." Kim Ye-ryeong, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a verbal statement that day, "People are troubled every day by housing issues, but to use such disconnected rhetoric only makes us laugh bitterly."

Spokesperson Kim also pointed out Kim Hyun-mi's past remarks that housing supply was already sufficient. He said, "Five months ago, when announcing the July 10 measures, Minister Kim said, 'Housing supply is sufficient, and the cause of the real estate crisis is multi-homeowners.'"

He emphasized, "Apartments are not bread, so the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should come up with proper measures."

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min / Photo by Yonhap News

Professor Kim Geun-sik, head of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district committee in Seoul, wrote on Facebook that day, "This is Marie Antoinette's out-of-touch remark season 2, telling people to eat cake if there is no bread," and criticized, "It is the same perception as Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sun-mi's call to break free from the apartment fantasy."

Park Soo-young, a lawmaker from the same party, wrote on her Facebook that day, "The very idea that the government will make bread and supply it is problematic," and pointed out, "The government's role is to allow bakers to comfortably make and supply bread, and to create a system where residents can buy bread so that the market functions."

Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate from the opposition People Power Party, also strongly criticized on Facebook, "This thoroughly incompetent government failed in apartment policy, and now refuses to admit policy failure, blaming innocent apartments for not being bread, which again upsets the people."

He added, "Who told the government to directly build apartments? The government is not a construction company but the entity that makes apartment policies," and said, "They have not implemented any apartment supply policies, and now they say such things. Are they only now realizing that apartments cannot be built in a day?"

Amid growing opposition criticism of the government's real estate measures, Minister Kim announced plans to resolve the jeonse shortage by supplying high-quality multi-family houses and villas instead of apartments, which are difficult to supply immediately.

At the Land Committee that day, Minister Kim said, "We will supply multi-family houses and villas with good quality as part of the jeonse measures," and forecasted, "If the jeonse supply measures are implemented swiftly, it can contribute to market stability. I think the market will stabilize around next spring."