Jang Donghyuk Says, "President Lee's Branding of Multi-Homeowners as a Social Evil Is Pitiful and Concerning... He Looks Like an Election Broker"

Criticism of Multi-Homeowner Regulation Policy
"The President's 5 Billion Won Capital Gain Is a 'Reconstruction Lottery'"

On the 17th, Jang Donghyuk, head of the People Power Party, criticized President Lee Jaemyung, saying, "It is truly pitiful and worrying to see him unconditionally branding multi-homeowners as an absolute social evil and agitating on social media (SNS)."

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is delivering remarks at the Walking with the Vulnerable Committee’s Lunar New Year volunteer activity held on the 13th at Jungnim Comprehensive Social Welfare Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News

On the same day, Jang posted on Facebook an article titled "Jang Donghyuk responds to President Lee Jaemyung's SNS politics," in which he wrote, "Isn't it true that the President himself holds a Bundang reconstruction windfall that is expected to yield a 5 billion won capital gain after he leaves office?" He went on to pour out criticism, saying, "It is truly pitiful and worrying to see the President unconditionally defining multi-homeowners as an absolute social evil and devoting himself to agitation on SNS." Jang continued his sharp criticism, saying, "There is no trace of the dignity befitting a head of state and the head of the executive branch, and in trying to win even a few more votes in local elections by dividing the people into haves and have-nots, he looks like an election broker."

He went on to stress, "Even amid the crisis of population extinction, ordinary people in the provinces who keep their hometown houses and their elderly mothers' residences are not speculators, but patriots who support the local economy with their whole bodies," and pointed out, "The act of demonizing them and playing a numbers game to provoke the public's 'envy' can only be seen as low-level politics."

Jang also raised President Lee's personal real estate issues, saying, "When you ran for office, you repeatedly said you would sell your Bundang apartment, but in fact you held on and did not sell your Bundang home. The reason you chose to rent on a jeonse deposit in Gyeyang instead of buying a home there is probably because housing prices in Gyeyang do not rise, whereas prices in Bundang do." He then criticized, "The President's unearned income is supposedly about housing rights, but are the people's livelihood homes somehow wrong?" and added, "When those at the top are holding a lottery ticket, do you really expect those at the bottom to sell their homes? First, tell us what you intend to do with your own lottery ticket."

He further said, "You are no longer the leader of the opposition, yet it is truly unsightly to see you still dividing the people into those who are 'jealous' and those who are 'hungry'," arguing, "It was not multi-homeowners but the President's incompetence that turned young people into 'suddenly destitute'." He continued, "If multi-homeowners are the devils who drive up housing prices, then prices should also have skyrocketed under conservative administrations, but in fact apartment prices soared under the Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in, and Lee Jaemyung governments," and stressed, "The regulation-only policies of left-wing administrations triggered the surge in housing prices."

Finally, Jang hit back, saying, "It is petty to see you trying to change the political narrative by merely counting how many homes the opposition leader owns in such precious time," and sneered, "Do not try to cover up your blunders with divisive real estate politics; instead, be honest from the beginning about how the tariff negotiations were conducted." He went on to criticize, "This is not the time to be bickering with me on SNS to beg for 'likes'," and, "Nor is it the time to be browbeating public officials at provincial town hall meetings and swaggering in front of the people, saying, 'I am the President.'"

President Lee Jaemyung is speaking at the Senior Secretaries' Meeting held at the Blue House on the 12th. Photo by Blue House Press Photographers

The previous day, President Lee asked Jang about his views on multi-homeowner policy via X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Does the People Power Party believe that multi-homeowners should not be regulated and that their existing privileges should be maintained?"

President Lee emphasized the need to abolish tax and financial privileges for multi-homeowners, saying, "Homes should be used for residential purposes, and it is not right to encourage speculative multi-home ownership." He continued, "It is fair and common sense to reduce multi-home ownership in order to enhance housing stability for those without homes," and argued, "It is desirable for the public sector to take charge of residential leasing."

President Lee, who criticized the People Power Party by saying, "It is against common sense to regard the concentration of multiple homes in the hands of a few as desirable," added, "I support policies that curb multi-home ownership in order to eradicate real estate speculation."