Won Hee-ryong: "Protecting Housing Vulnerable and Tenants is the Reason for the State's Existence" Suggests 'Supplementing', Not Abolishing, the Lease 3 Laws

On the morning of the 11th, Won Hee-ryong, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, responded to reporters' questions as he arrived at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Seoul Regional Land Management Office in the Government Complex Gwacheon, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Won Hee-ryong, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, suggested revising and supplementing the 'Lease 3 Acts (right to request contract renewal, rent ceiling system, and rent reporting system)' rather than abolishing them. These laws became controversial after President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol pledged a 'comprehensive review,' sparking debates about their repeal.

On the morning of the same day, as Won arrived at the hearing preparation office set up at the Government Complex Gwacheon, he met with reporters and said about the Lease 3 Acts, "I believe these laws were created with good intentions to protect the housing rights of tenants, who are vulnerable in housing," adding, "Protecting tenants and ensuring housing stability for the vulnerable is the reason the state exists." While acknowledging that "there are parts that fall short of the intended goals and some side effects," he emphasized, "The majority of tenants and lessees whom the state aims to protect are the absolute majority."

Enacted and revised in July 2020, the Lease 3 Acts have been criticized for causing a shortage of jeonse (key money deposit) housing and a surge in jeonse prices, exacerbating housing insecurity among low-income, non-homeowners. In response, President-elect Yoon also included a 'comprehensive review of the Lease Acts' as a campaign pledge. After the inauguration of the Presidential Transition Committee, the committee identified the Lease 3 Acts as a major reform task related to real estate. In a briefing on the 31st of last month, the committee stated, "The Lease 3 Acts are causing market confusion, so institutional improvements such as abolition or reduction are necessary." Earlier, on the 29th, Shim Kyo-eon, head of the real estate task force at the transition committee and a professor at Konkuk University, pointed out in a briefing, "The current government rapidly introduced the Lease 3 Acts without sufficient social consensus or grace periods, causing significant damage to the stability of residents due to artificial market intervention."

While agreeing with these assessments, Won explained that the transition committee's messages do not equate to policy decisions. He said, "The transition committee is not a place to make policies but fulfills its mission by understanding the previous government's policies, exploring new government policies, and submitting the results as a report to the newly established government." This implied that there could be policy changes different from the transition committee's messages.

This also seems to reflect the practical difficulty of abolishing the Lease 3 Acts. Revising or abolishing these laws requires cooperation from the major opposition party, the Democratic Party. Won described his strength as 'political sensibility' and hinted that he would actively persuade the opposition. He said, "I see myself as an expert in communication with the public and political coordination, which is why I have been assigned."