Formation of Special Real Estate Committees at Central and Seoul City Party Levels
Exploring Deregulation Measures to Expand Private-Sector Supply
The People Power Party has launched special committees on real estate at both the central party and Seoul city party levels, mobilizing all available resources for a comprehensive response. The party not only aims to scrutinize the issues within the government’s October 15 real estate policy measures but also plans to propose alternatives centered on private-sector supply. This move is interpreted as an effort to secure public sentiment in the Seoul metropolitan area, which has emerged as a key battleground for the 9th nationwide local elections scheduled for June 3, 2026.
On October 22, the People Power Party awarded appointment letters to members of the Special Committee for Real Estate Policy Normalization (the Real Estate Special Committee) and held its first plenary session. This came just one day after the party’s Supreme Council approved the formation of the committee at its meeting the previous day.
Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the first meeting of the Special Committee for Real Estate Policy Normalization held at the National Assembly on October 22, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On the morning of October 21, the party’s Supreme Council convened and approved the formation of the Real Estate Special Committee, appointing Jang Donghyuk as chair. Kim Doeup, the party’s Policy Committee Chair, will serve as vice chair. The committee members include Park Sooyoung, Kang Minkook, and Kwon Youngjin-opposition whips from the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance, Political Affairs, and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committees-as well as lawmakers Cho Eunhee, Kim Eunhye, and Cho Jeonghun, who represent constituencies in the Seoul metropolitan area, and Professor Shim Kyoeon from Konkuk University.
The committee will begin gathering public opinion on October 24 with an on-site meeting on real estate policy measures with Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon. The location under consideration is a redevelopment site in the northern part of Seoul. To hear directly from actual homebuyers, the committee plans to continue holding meetings at redevelopment and reconstruction sites and unsold housing complexes in the metropolitan area. Additionally, the party intends to establish a public grievance center on its official website. Jang Donghyuk emphasized, “We will go to places filled with despair for newlyweds and young people, listen to their voices, and create policies the public truly wants. Through revolutionary regulatory reforms, we will restore hope for homeownership.”
The committee also plans to propose private-sector-oriented supply measures in cooperation with the Seoul city government and others. Specifically, it is considering abolishing the reconstruction excess profit recovery system, as well as simplifying the approval process for reconstruction and redevelopment projects. Kim Eunhye, the party’s Deputy Floor Leader for Policy, told The Asia Business Daily, “We must pass a special law to streamline the approval stages for reconstruction and redevelopment, and transfer floor area ratio incentives from the public sector to the private sector.”
In addition, the party will call for revisions to the so-called “Yellow Envelope Law” (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which places restrictions on construction companies, as well as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. At the committee meeting, Policy Committee Chair Kim Doeup stated, “We need to create an environment where the private sector can take the lead in supply. The Yellow Envelope Law should be withdrawn, and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act must be reasonably revised.”
A special committee has also been formed at the Seoul city party level. The People Power Party’s Seoul Metropolitan Chapter has established the Special Committee for Normalizing the Housing Ladder, appointing lawmaker Kim Jaeseop from Dobong-gap district as chair. While the party’s central committee takes a comprehensive approach to the supply shortage in the metropolitan area and unsold housing in the provinces, the Seoul committee will focus on developing solutions specific to the city. On the afternoon of October 22, the committee will officially begin its activities with a “October 15 Housing Disaster Protest” at the National Assembly, joined by local council members from the Seoul chapter. In a phone interview, Kim Jaeseop stated, “While building new homes on state-owned or public land is necessary, we are also considering removing obstacles at redevelopment and reconstruction sites that are already underway.”
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