"Huh Kyung-young Resembles National Revolutionary Party Leader"
"Must Reveal Specific Funding Sources and How to Raise Money"
Former National Assembly Member Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate of the People Power Party / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Yoo Seung-min, a former lawmaker and presidential candidate of the People Power Party, strongly criticized Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's basic housing pledge, saying it "resembles Heo Kyung-young, the honorary representative of the National Revolutionary Party."
On the 3rd, Yoo wrote on his Facebook, "Governor Lee Jae-myung has once again presented a sweet pledge full of sugar," adding, "It is a more severe false and exaggerated advertisement than basic income."
He continued, "Just hearing the words brings to mind a utopia," and pointed out, "But while promising to let people live in those nice houses for life, there is not a single word about what money will be used to build the basic housing."
He then questioned, "Who exactly will bear that astronomical cost, and with what money?"
Yoo criticized the basic housing pledge, which includes not only the poor and low-income groups but also the middle class, saying, "Even building public rental housing that allows people to live with dignity for those in need requires a lot of taxpayers' money, and such a utopia is something that even communist countries could not afford due to lack of funds."
He added, "If this pledge were so easy, why has not a single basic house been supplied in Gyeonggi Province during the past three years of his governorship?"
He urged, "Governor Lee should first disclose how much the basic housing fund is and how he plans to secure that money."
Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province and a preliminary presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is greeting ahead of announcing a real estate policy to supply more than 2.5 million houses during his term, including more than 1 million basic houses, at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd. / Photo by Yonhap News
On the same day, Governor Lee announced detailed plans for his flagship policy, the 'basic housing' policy, at the National Assembly. The core of the plan is to supply 2.5 million houses during his term, including 1 million basic houses.
Considering that the Moon Jae-in administration's 2.4 supply plan aimed to supply 2.05 million houses by 2025, this means at least 450,000 additional houses will be supplied by the end of the next presidential term in 2027.
According to Governor Lee, basic housing means △ anyone without a house, including the middle class, △ affordable rent at construction cost level, △ high-quality public housing △ that can be lived in for more than 30 years.
Regarding this, Lee emphasized, "To stabilize housing prices and prevent house-less low-income people from suffering, it is necessary to expand supply and suppress speculative demand, but the supply content should also be changed to mass supply of high-quality public housing, i.e., basic housing."
Lee also announced plans to introduce a 'basic income-type land holding tax' to block real estate speculation and alleviate the deepening income polarization. The secured tax revenue will be paid entirely as basic income in the form of local currency.
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