[Summary] "You Go Rent" to Yoo Seung-min... Cheong Wa Dae Says "Have You Forgotten Your Own Pledge?"

Cheong "It was a question, not Moon's statement," rebuttal
Yoo Seung-min criticizes with post "You go to public rental"

President Moon Jae-in is seen conversing after inspecting single-story rental housing units at the Dongtan Public Rental Housing complex, commemorating 1 million LH rental homes, in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 11th, together with Kim Hyun-mee, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Byeon Chang-heum, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (current LH President).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Su-wan] A political controversy has erupted over the remarks exchanged between President Moon Jae-in and Byun Chang-heum, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and CEO of LH, during their visit to a public rental housing complex site. Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized President Moon’s remarks, prompting the Blue House to respond by calling it "distortion of facts" and "a purely political attack on the president."

The controversy began on the 11th when President Moon visited the Happy Housing complex in Dongtan, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, built by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and toured a 13-pyeong (44㎡, supply area 21 pyeong) rental apartment while conversing with Byun Chang-heum, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Regarding the size mentioned, it refers to the "exclusive area" (residential exclusive area) standard. The commonly used supply area standard is the sum of the residential exclusive area and the common area. For example, considering that the common area is about 8 pyeong, adding 8 pyeong to the exclusive area aligns with the apartment size recognized by the public. Therefore, 44㎡ corresponds to about 21 pyeong, not 13 pyeong.

At the time, nominee Byun introduced a room with bunk beds and said, "If there are two children, one can sleep on the top and one on the bottom." President Moon asked, "One child is standard for newlyweds, but two young children might be possible," to which nominee Byun replied, "Yes." This conversation drew criticism from multiple media outlets and opposition politicians.

As the controversy spread, the Blue House immediately rebutted. On the 12th, Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok emphasized that President Moon’s remarks were questions and refuted the media reports. Kang also stressed, "We do not expect truthful reporting, but at least the facts must be accurately conveyed."

However, despite this explanation, opposition presidential candidates continued sharp criticism. Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min posted on his Facebook the same day under the title "You Go to Public Rental," criticizing, "Ordinary people dream of owning a home, but the president tells them to give up such a 'foolish dream.'" Yoo also pointed out President Moon’s official residence, saying, "It costs 6.2 billion won just to build the security building."

People’s Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo also criticized via his Facebook, saying, "It does not seem appropriate to say such things to the people while preparing a 795-pyeong official residence after retirement."

In response, the Blue House strongly denied the claims, calling them "distortion of facts" and "purely political attacks on the president."

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, is briefing on the schedule of the ASEAN-related summit meetings to be held online from the 12th at the Blue House Chuncheon Hall on the 10th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 12th, spokesperson Kang Min-seok, in a written briefing, said, "I wonder what kind of mindset they have," criticizing a People Power Party politician who targeted the public rental housing policy aimed at stabilizing housing for the 'housing vulnerable' by saying, "You go to public rental."

Regarding the security building budget, Kang rebutted that the increase in budget is due to the transfer of external security duties for former presidents from the police to the security office starting this year.

Kang also highlighted that former lawmaker Yoo had previously pledged to expand the supply of rental housing as a presidential candidate. He said, "Then why did he make a pledge in the 2017 19th presidential election to 'expand the supply of small new rental housing for youth, newlyweds, and low-income elderly living alone'?" He questioned, "Has he forgotten his own pledge in just three years? Or was it just a careless remark?"

Regarding Ahn’s remark about the "795-pyeong presidential residence after retirement," Kang explained, "Although construction is still ongoing, the president’s living space is about the size of the existing Yangsan residence (80 pyeong)." He added, "Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, where President Moon will return, is a rural area, so the size that must be secured for construction according to related laws is relatively large."

Finally, Kang added, "Those who aspire to be political leaders should not try to gain political benefits by sowing discord between the president and the people but should earn the trust of the people with their own vision."

Kim Eun-hye, Spokesperson for the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party continued its offensive on the 13th. Spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a statement, "The Blue House’s explanation that the president’s remarks were questions is unreasonable," and questioned, "Is it common sense to ask such questions after seeing a 13-pyeong apartment?" She added, "If so, the president should have scolded the minister nominee who said four people could live in such a small space," and claimed, "President Moon, who said he was confident about real estate issues, still fails to empathize with the people."

On the same day, lawmaker Ahn Byung-gil, during an unlimited debate opposing the amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act in the early morning, said, "The president’s remarks have stirred public anger," and "Telling people to live their whole lives in a 3-pyeong public rental housing, how could they not be upset?"

Ahn also said, "If you truly care for the people, instead of building a presidential residence on farmland with suspicious shortcuts using national funds, build rental housing or public residential facilities for the people."

Lawmaker Kwak Sang-do mentioned the president’s remarks on his Facebook, criticizing, "The people live in 13-pyeong rental housing, while the president lives in a 795-pyeong country house," and added, "Since becoming president, he has no achievements to boast of, but he is excellent at blatantly taking care of his personal interests."