Lee Jae-myung: "Out of 2.5 million housing units, 2.05 million are from existing plans... Considering a screening system over a lottery for basic housing" (Comprehensive)

Existing supply plan of 2.05 million homes
plus additional units from Basic Housing and redevelopment/reconstruction
announced supply of 2.5 million homes during term
Real estate policy failure is
bureaucrats' failure, not the President's

Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province and a presidential candidate in the Democratic Party primary, announced a real estate pledge on the 3rd at the National Assembly Communication Hall, stating, "We will supply more than 2.5 million houses during the term, including more than 1 million basic houses." / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said at an online press briefing held on the 3rd regarding his presidential pledge to supply 2.5 million housing units during his term, "It's not just about Seoul; the quantity is proposed on a nationwide scale." Lee stated, "According to the current government's plan, based on developable land, there are 2.05 million housing units scheduled for supply by 2025. In addition, we plan to promote redevelopment and reconstruction, secure a large portion of public housing from that, and supply 1 million units as basic housing."

Earlier, on February 17, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki announced at the 15th Real Estate Market Inspection Ministerial Meeting that "if all measures including the 2.4 Supply Plan are implemented, 2.05 million housing units can be supplied by 2025." The current government aims to achieve the "2.5 million housing units supply during the term" by adding 450,000 units to the already confirmed land development supply volume. However, it is still difficult to specify which regions or sites the supply volume will be finalized for.

Lee said, "Many people want to buy houses out of anxiety, and we need to open the way for such people. Some should be supplied with basic housing to eliminate so-called 'panic buying demand'." Regarding basic housing, he mentioned that they are considering a 'screening' method rather than a 'lottery.' On funding, he said, "We can sufficiently utilize market funds. There is bond issuance, and we can create funds or ABS (Asset-Backed Securities)." He added, "Since there are assets much more expensive than the cost, there is no problem in raising funds." To this end, Lee announced plans to establish a separate public housing management agency apart from LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation).

Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province and a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is smiling brightly during a pledge announcement related to 'Basic Housing' at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 3rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

He firmly placed the responsibility for the current government's real estate policy failure on government officials rather than President Moon Jae-in. He said, "It is the responsibility of the ministries and the Prime Minister to create and execute conclusive policies so that they can be implemented according to the President's instructions and directions. However, they did not follow the President's instructions." He continued, "We told them to prevent making money from real estate, but instead, they allowed earning money through rental businesses," emphasizing, "There was a loophole somewhere in the policy. Ultimately, it is the officials' responsibility for failing to faithfully implement the President's instructions and policies."

He also mentioned the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal. He said, "(President Moon) instructed to create a real estate supervisory organization. If it had been properly established and strictly enforced at that time, the LH scandal would have been detected earlier. The damage to the administration would not have been significant. If they had followed the instructions, would the damage have occurred just before the election?" Lee emphasized, "It is not the President's failure. It is the failure of the officials who created and executed detailed policies according to the directions."