Seoul apartment prices hit record streak; finance minister says he takes it 'seriously'

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il said Tuesday he takes the record-breaking streak of rising Seoul apartment prices "seriously."

Lee made the remark at the national audit of the Finance and Economy Planning Committee at the National Assembly on Tuesday, responding to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook's criticism that Seoul apartment prices had risen for 86 consecutive weeks despite the government's multi-home ownership regulations and residence-centered housing policy.

Debate also flared over President Lee Jae-myung's description of rising apartment prices on the outskirts of Seoul as "a kind of flattening."

When lawmaker Lee pressed that the government was "taking the housing hardships of ordinary people too lightly," Deputy Prime Minister Lee pushed back, saying "that is not the case" and that President Lee Jae-myung "would agree that he, too, takes rising real estate prices seriously."

On housing market stabilization measures, Lee said the government aims to raise the rental housing stock from its current level of about 8 percent to more than 10 percent, adding that it was targeting "10 percent plus alpha."

Lee also apologized for losses suffered by retail investors following the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs, saying he was "sorry for ultimately causing significant harm to investors."

First Vice Minister Kwon Dae-young echoed the sentiment, saying he felt "a heavy heart and deep regret" in his former capacity as vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, adding that he was "weighed down by the fact that, contrary to our intentions, the outcome caused harm to the public."