"I Almost Died of Overwork Fighting with the President Throughout the Lunar New Year Holiday"
On the 25th, Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, said, referring to the president, that he "calls people who own homes devils," adding that the "natural desire to buy one's own home is not a crime."
Jang made these remarks at an on-site meeting of the Special Committee for Normalization of Real Estate Policy held at Haenuri Town in Yangcheon District, Seoul, on this day. As chair of the Special Committee, Jang said, "In terms of real estate regulations, curbing speculation is absolutely necessary, but it is a problem when we also choke off genuine end-user demand," and added, "For those who stay overseas, relocate for work, or move for educational purposes, we need to ease the temporary non-residential regulations and clarify the criteria for exemption from heavy taxation, so that we can resolve the problems."
Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is discussing with members of the Special Committee for Normalization of Real Estate Policy and local residents during an on-site meeting held at Haenuri Town in Yangcheon District, Seoul, on the 25th. Yonhap News
Regarding the government's recent focus on regulating multiple-home owners, Jang said, "We must not start from the premise of demonizing those who, for various reasons, have no other choice but to own several homes," and pointed out, "If the perspective from which we view real estate is wrong, sound policies cannot emerge." He also stressed, "Real estate accounts for the largest portion of our assets," and "If policy goes wrong, the lives of ordinary people become harder and the entire economy is greatly affected."
At the meeting, Jang also said, "Because of the president, I have become the symbol of multiple-home owners in Korea," adding, "I almost died of overwork because I kept fighting throughout the Lunar New Year holiday." In response to concerns that the cost burden of shared expenses is increasing in the process of promoting Seoul’s Moa Town (small-scale housing maintenance and management areas) projects, he said, "Not only the Seoul Metropolitan Government but also the central government must resolve the problem," thereby highlighting the need for support from the central government as well as from local governments.
The People Power Party announced at the meeting that it would establish housing policies that are friendly to marriage. Park Sunghoon, a People Power Party lawmaker, said, "We are gathering ideas so that the housing market can be designed to be marriage-friendly and child-friendly," adding, "In particular, we are preparing a variety of policy finance packages." He went on to say, "We are designing the system so that there will be no disadvantages in the process of combining a couple’s income, so that home purchases are not delayed because of marriage."
Jeong Jeomsik, chief of the People Power Party’s Policy Committee, emphasized, "The direction of housing policy that our party should pursue is to increase supply so that genuine end-users can take out loans at an appropriate level and realize their dream of owning a home." He added, "Within the party, there is consensus on measures such as providing sufficient support when young people purchase their first home in their lifetime so that they can feel secure about getting married."
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