Ruling party pushes housing supply legislation; opposition blasts 'hasty' policy

The ruling and opposition parties clashed Thursday over the government's real estate policy. The Democratic Party of Korea pledged to accelerate legislation aimed at expanding housing supply, while the People Power Party intensified its attacks, accusing the government of repeatedly rushing out policies only to revise them belatedly.

Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party's acting leader and floor leader, said at a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday that the party would "stabilize the housing market through comprehensive measures covering supply, taxation and finance," adding that it would "create a housing market where the public can feel secure through swift supply and support for genuine buyers."

The Democratic Party held a housing market stabilization TF meeting Wednesday to review real estate policy with the government. Lawmakers on the party's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee also held closed-door consultations with the government to discuss housing supply measures.

Han said the sharp drop in permits and ground-breakings during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration was now translating into a supply shortage and a coming decline in move-in volumes. He expressed frustration that the People Power Party, having weakened the supply base over the three years it held power, was now obstructing every government policy aimed at boosting supply rather than offering any help since moving into opposition.

The People Power Party trained its fire on what it called policy confusion within the government, using the previously announced real estate tax reform plan as a springboard to raise questions about accountability within the economic policy team.

PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik criticized the government at a supreme council meeting Thursday, saying "it was wrong to push ahead recklessly with something that was always going to have to be walked back," and warned that "if the government keeps hastily announcing policies and then scrambling to fix them amid controversy, markets will lose confidence."

Jeong urged that the tax reform plan "be overhauled root and branch" and called for a full reshuffle of Kim Yong-beom, the Cheong Wa Dae policy chief, and the broader economic team. "Cabinet ministers bickering and stumbling over each other ultimately falls on the president, who holds the power of appointment," he said.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok visited a construction site to press the government on housing policy. Jang toured the S4 construction site at Changneung new town in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where he met with residents who say they were harmed by the "New Home" pre-sale subscription program.

New Home is a public housing pre-sale program. Prospective residents are pushing back ahead of the formal subscription process, saying that preferential loan rates and other financing support promised in the original pre-sale announcement have since been removed.

Jang visited the site with members of the party's special committee on real estate policy normalization, which he chairs, to review loan policies and assess the damage suffered by genuine homebuyers.