Kim Hyun-mi's 'Apartment Bread' Remark... Opposition: "Bread Also Follows Market Principles" vs Ruling Party: "Talking Bread While Lying"

Yoon Hee-sook "Demanding even the bread we have... High bread tax imposed"
Shin Dong-geun "Does the government see taxes merely as a means to extort"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi is responding to lawmakers' questions at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 30th of last month. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The so-called 'apartment bread' remark by Kim Hyunmi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, has sparked a heated debate between the ruling and opposition parties. Earlier on the 1st, Yoon Heesook, a member of the People Power Party, refuted Minister Kim's claim by saying, "Even if apartments are like bread, market principles operate similarly." In response, Shin Donggeun, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, strongly criticized Yoon on the 2nd, calling her a "market fundamentalist."

Minister Kim previously attended the full meeting of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 30th of last month. When asked about the reason for the shortage of apartment supply in the jeonse (lease deposit) measures, she replied, "The supply volume of apartments decreased in 2021 and 2022 because the number of apartment permits drastically dropped five years ago, and many public housing sites were also canceled."

She added, "If apartments are 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)." Minister Kim's remark is interpreted as expressing the difficulty of apartment supply by comparing it to bread, emphasizing that due to the long construction period, it is hard to secure supply in a short time.

Yoon Hee-sook, People Power Party / Photo by Yonhap News

In response, on the following day (the 1st), Representative Yoon posted on her Facebook, refuting by saying, "Even if apartments are like bread, market principles operate similarly."

She stated, "This does not obscure the need to correct the current government's direction."

She continued, "(Minister Kim's remark) probably means that unlike bread, apartments have a long construction period, so her role is limited," but pointed out, "Rather, because of this, government policies should be more systematic and earn the trust of the people, which seems to have been continuously forgotten, which is regrettable."

She further criticized, "The most foolish thing is to impose high bread taxes as if to demand all the bread one has because bread is precious," adding, "People should think that delicious bread will become more common in the future, but if measures are repeatedly patched up like this, people will think bread will become even more precious." This is interpreted as a criticism of government policy, implying that just as bread prices rise when bread is scarce, housing prices rise due to insufficient supply measures.

Shin Dong-geun, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning at the Board of Audit and Inspection's national audit held by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on October 15. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the other hand, the ruling party criticized Representative Yoon's claim as a 'market omnipotent ideology.' On the 2nd, Supreme Council member Shin strongly criticized at the party's Supreme Council meeting, saying, "Yoon's comparison of the housing market to bread implies that supply is the cure-all," and called her a "market fundamentalist."

He added, "Their worst lie is to claim that the market is always in a state of perfect free competition," pointing out, "If bakeries raise bread prices to gain excess profits or hoard to gain speculative profits, the bread market cannot function normally."

Regarding Yoon's claim that "high bread taxes were imposed as if demanding all the bread one has," Shin responded, "It is bitter to think that the government sees taxes merely as a means of 'extortion,'" and retorted, "Did she want to say 'extortion' while telling a lie?"