The ruling and opposition parties clashed on the 14th over President Lee Jaemyung sending daily messages on social media (SNS) targeting owners of multiple homes.
The Democratic Party of Korea pushed back after the People Power Party became incensed over a post President Lee uploaded that day saying, "I am only pursuing normalization of the real estate market and am not forcing anyone to sell their home." This came in response to People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk criticizing the president's SNS post from the previous day, in which Lee raised issues with the practice of routinely extending loans for multiple-home owners, saying Lee should "stop intimidating people over real estate."
In a commentary released that day, People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Sunghoon said, "President Lee claims he has 'never forced anyone to sell their home,'" and criticized, "For the very person who has repeatedly and publicly made remarks to the effect of 'do not try to hold out' to now say 'it is not coercion' is nothing more than playing word games with the people."
He went on, "Is it really the attitude of a responsible leader to mobilize every tool of taxes, loans, and regulations to effectively pressure a particular choice, and then say 'the choice is free'?" He added, "Should there not be a difference between the president and a street thug who insists, 'I only asked how much you had, I never asked you to hand over the money'?"
He also said, "The president has stated that 'the Bundang home is for residential use after I leave office,'" and asked, "In that case, may the public take it as a promise that there will be no sale of the property after his term on the grounds of security concerns, no realization of capital gains, and no gifting of the property to his children?"
In a separate commentary, People Power Party spokesperson Cho Yongsul said, "At his New Year press conference, President Lee said, 'There is no need to cut taxes for those who hold a property for a long time without even living in it.' This is effectively pressure not to own homes in which one does not actually reside," and added, "However, he himself has owned an apartment in Bundang for years without actually living there. He is belatedly trying to persuade the public with the explanation that it is 'a home to return to after retirement,' but such a double standard is unlikely to gain public sympathy."
In response, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Kim Hyunjeong said in a written briefing, "People Power Party leader Jang, a 'multiple-home owner' who owns six homes, lashed out at President Lee, who pointed out the issue of 'extending the maturity of mortgage loans for multiple-home owners,' saying, 'Stop intimidating the people over real estate.' It is a case of a multiple-home owner feeling the sting of his own conscience."
She went on to stress, "What the president pointed out is that policies that have been wrongly used for real estate investment and speculation should be corrected, that any unjust preferential treatment should be clawed back, and that those who benefited should bear corresponding burdens."
She further emphasized, "Owner-occupiers of homes used for their own residence should be protected. However, those who hold investment or speculative properties they do not live in, or who own multiple homes, inflict harm on young people and ordinary citizens without homes, so it is fair for them to bear corresponding responsibility and burdens."
She added pointedly, "Since Mr. Jang does not have six bodies, I would like to suggest that he take this opportunity to dispose of the five homes he does not live in."
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