As the government unveiled a Greater Seoul housing supply package Thursday, voices within the Democratic Party of Korea are calling for bolder measures to address the housing insecurity felt by young people in their 20s and 30s. The party said it plans to accelerate follow-up legislation in line with the government's announcement.
The Democratic Party and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a party-government consultation Wednesday to discuss the supply measures ahead of their release. Participants agreed with the overall direction of the government's plan but raised concerns that additional steps were needed, particularly to address youth housing issues.
A lawmaker on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee who attended the meeting said, "It is still not enough. There were calls for bolder measures, especially to appeal to young people." The ministry was also urged to treat youth housing as a separate priority, given real estate concerns among voters in their 20s and 30s.
The party said it intends to move swiftly on follow-up support alongside the government's announcement. Han Byung-do, acting party leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a policy coordination meeting Thursday that the party would "bring together the capabilities of the Land Committee, the Political Affairs Committee, the Finance and Economy Committee and other relevant standing committees to comprehensively coordinate legislative tasks on supply, finance and taxation, ensuring the government's measures are carried out in the field without a hitch."
Policy committee chairwoman Han Jeong-ae also stressed the need to "carefully look after young people, newlyweds and other genuine end-users so they do not suffer from instability in the housing market." She added that efforts were needed to broaden the supply base by drawing on both public and private capacity and making active use of privately held idle sites for housing.
Seoul-area lawmakers and Seoul city council members attending a regular policy meeting also focused heavily on the capital's real estate situation, continuing discussions from the previous week.
Rep. Oh Gi-hyeong of the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee told reporters after the meeting that "it is a matter for future National Assembly discussion, but I think 10 trillion won ($7.07 billion) or 20 trillion won of surplus tax revenue should be used for residential welfare and housing stability." He proposed that windfall revenues driven by the semiconductor boom be channeled into housing stabilization efforts.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Party expanded and reorganized its housing market stabilization task force to oversee not only housing supply but also taxation and financial policy related to real estate in coordination with the government. The party plans to focus on expanding non-apartment housing that can be supplied in the short term and shortening project timelines for reconstruction and redevelopment, while also pressing ahead with follow-up legislation to implement the supply measures.
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