Hong Nam-ki: "Jeonse Stability and Quality Housing Supply Are the Solution... Public Rental Activation Plan to Be Announced Soon"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki (center) is speaking at the joint briefing on the "2021 Economic Policy Direction" held at the Government Seoul Office in Sejong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th. From the left, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki, Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated, "The solution to stabilizing the jeonse market is to supply a large number of high-quality houses as quickly as possible," and mentioned that related measures will be announced soon.

On the afternoon of the 17th, Deputy Prime Minister Hong appeared on Yonhap News TV's 'News Watch' and, when asked about the timing for stabilization of the jeonse market, said, "I feel sorry as an official that the instability in the jeonse market has not yet subsided." He added, "Housing supply is not something that can be achieved in a short period, but it is most important to steadily implement the previously announced public housing supply plans and policies for the lower-middle class. We are planning to revitalize private rental housing to ensure the supply of quality public rental housing, and this will be announced soon."

He continued, "We mainly aim to supply more quality and decent public rental housing for the middle class through private rental housing," and added, "There is a tendency for housing demand to concentrate in areas near subway stations, so we are considering supply plans for urban areas with high demand."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong also introduced the 3.2% economic growth forecast for next year, presented in the '2021 Economic Policy Direction' on the same day. Regarding the feasibility of achieving the growth target, he said, "The government acknowledges the possibility of worsening COVID-19 conditions but also has expectations due to the emergence of vaccines, so we comprehensively considered these factors and set the target at 3.2%. Investment and exports are also continuing to improve, so this is not an optimistic figure but one that can be sufficiently achieved."

Regarding the possibility of financial market instability due to the surge in small business and household debt caused by the COVID-19 situation, he stated, "Measures such as loan maturity extensions and interest payment deferrals are currently in place, and decisions on extensions will be made based on trends. We will take sufficient preemptive measures through stress tests on financial institutions." He specifically mentioned, "Regarding household debt, a separate management plan will be announced and implemented in the first quarter of next year."

Concerning the government's additional vaccine purchases, he explained, "The quarantine authorities will make judgments based on the COVID-19 situation, vaccine characteristics, and overseas vaccination status, but I understand that negotiations on quantities with individual pharmaceutical companies will proceed. We will actively support the budget to ensure there are no setbacks in securing additional vaccines."