[2025 Audit] Ruling and Opposition Clash Over Weekly Apartment Trend Statistics: "Can't Trust, Must Abolish" vs "Hiding Data Out of Discomfort?"

Democratic Party: "Concerns Over Excessive Speculative Sentiment"
People Power Party: "An Indicator Reflecting Actual Market Conditions"
Seoul Apartment Prices See Record Weekly Increase in Third Week of October

During the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit held on October 23, debates broke out between the ruling and opposition parties over whether to continue the "Weekly Apartment Price Trend Survey" conducted by the Korea Real Estate Board. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea questioned the reliability of statistics that reflect asking prices and called for a switch to monthly statistics, while lawmakers from the People Power Party argued that abolishing the survey is not a solution.

At the audit held by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee at the National Assembly on this day, the "Weekly Apartment Price Trend," which has become a topic of intense public interest due to the recent sharp rise in real estate prices, was a major point of contention. Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jinseok stated, "I question whether the weekly apartment price trend can be regarded as an authoritative national statistic," adding, "Because there are not many actual transactions on a weekly basis, asking prices are heavily reflected, and as a result, the data is criticized for incorporating speculative sentiment." He continued, "To ensure the credibility of the survey, it is most important to check how and to what extent actual transaction prices and asking prices are applied. When I inquired about the proportion of asking prices used as sample prices, I received insincere responses such as 'none' or 'unknown'." He pointed out, "Because of this lack of transparency in the survey method, speculative sentiment is overrepresented, and distorted figures further stimulate the market, leading to a vicious cycle of statistical distortion," and added, "It seems we need to overhaul the housing price statistics system."

Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Taejun also said, "There is a need to quickly resolve whether to continue the weekly apartment price trend statistics," adding, "In the current seller’s market, if samples with excessively high asking prices are mixed with actual transaction samples, statistical distortion could occur." He continued, "With monthly or quarterly statistics, it would be possible to construct the data using only actual transaction samples, which could improve the consistency of real estate statistics." Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yeonhee noted, "Among OECD member countries, South Korea is the only nation where the government officially announces a weekly housing price index," and added, "No other country conducts housing price surveys on a weekly basis at the local district or municipal level."

Jamsil Apartment. Photo by Jo Yongjun

There were also suggestions to continue the trend survey but not to publish the results, or to conduct the survey biweekly instead.

On the other hand, People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jongwook argued, "As Seoul apartment prices have surged recently, this indicator has become increasingly important. From what I hear from officials, it seems the survey is being effectively discontinued, even if they cannot say so outright," adding, "Whether people like it or not, the Korea Real Estate Board’s weekly statistics serve as a key indicator of market conditions. I do not understand why the government would hide the data just because it finds it uncomfortable or burdensome." He continued, "Even if the Korea Real Estate Board stops publishing weekly statistics, public interest in real estate trends will not disappear. The weekly statistics were created to provide timely information, and policy agencies also rely on them. There are even talks of abolishing the KB weekly statistics, but I do not think that is a fundamental solution. It would be better to supplement and continuously improve them."

In response, Sohn Taerak, President of the Korea Real Estate Board, explained, "Whether or not to continue the weekly survey is a decision for policymakers. The Korea Real Estate Board is working to enhance the accuracy of the survey by incorporating more expert opinions."

Meanwhile, according to the weekly apartment price trend data released on this day, as of the third week of October, apartment prices in Seoul rose by 0.50% compared to the previous week. This was the sharpest weekly increase since the related statistics began to be compiled in 2012. Analysts attributed this to a surge in last-minute demand ahead of the government’s implementation of measures such as designating all of Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province municipalities as regulated areas.