Sangwoo Park, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Apologizes for Confusion over Didimdol Loans... Excludes Previously Applied Cases from Measures [2024 National Audit]

On the 24th, Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated regarding the confusion surrounding the reduction of the Didimdol loan limit, "The current measure will not be applied to loans that have already been applied for."

Minister Park said at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee comprehensive audit that morning, "I sincerely apologize for causing confusion and inconvenience to the public."

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is speaking at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit held at the National Assembly in Seoul on the morning of the 24th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Minister Park explained the background of the Didimdol loan regulation, saying, "We considered that the recent continuous increase in policy loan volume could pose a burden on the stable management of the housing market and household debt," and added, "We also took into account the need to support more people with limited fund resources and requested banks to refrain from excessive loan expansion."

However, he repeatedly apologized for the policy confusion, stating, "There were no unified guidelines during this process, and there was not enough time for sufficient guidance before implementing the measures." Previously, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport planned to enforce regulations reducing the Didimdol loan limit, a low-interest policy loan for non-homeowners, starting from the 21st, but postponed the enforcement due to concerns that the burden on non-homeowner actual demanders preparing to move in would increase.

Minister Park emphasized, "Considering that the housing market situation varies by region, target group, and housing type, we will announce customized improvement measures, including excluding non-metropolitan areas, as soon as possible," and added, "When implementing, we will provide sufficient prior guidance to avoid public inconvenience and establish validity periods if necessary."

Regarding the case where the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) is engaged in litigation with victims of jeonse fraud in Busan due to cancellation of rental guarantees, he said, "HUG has an obligation to faithfully perform the role of protecting tenants as a public guarantee institution," and added, "We will revise HUG's internal regulations and terms and conditions to ensure that innocent tenants without fault are protected, and if necessary, promote institutional improvements such as legal amendments."

Additionally, concerning allegations that a specific company received preferential treatment by winning a large-scale private contract in the Yongsan Children's Garden project, he explained, "The company that carried out the related services four times has been performing the services since the early temporary opening in 2020," and stated, "All four service contracts were made by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in accordance with national contract laws."