Democratic Party "Nationwide Free Wi-Fi" Justice Party "Half-Half Price Apartments"

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the announcement of the 21st general election pledges held at the National Assembly on the 15th and watched the announcement by Policy Committee Chairman Jo Jung-sik. The Democratic Party promised the "beginning of the nationwide free Wi-Fi era" as its first pledge for the general election. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 15th a general election pledge to spend about 580 billion won over the next three years to usher in an era of nationwide free WiFi. This is the first welfare policy aimed at reducing communication costs. The Justice Party proposed bold real estate pledges such as raising the comprehensive real estate tax rate and 'half of half-price apartments.' Both progressive parties are prioritizing the common people and livelihood.

On the same day, the Democratic Party stated that it will expand and establish about 53,000 public WiFi spots by spending approximately 48 billion won this year, 260 billion won next year, and 270 billion won in 2022. The budget for this year's project has already been secured.

The plan is to focus WiFi installation on transportation, education, and cultural facilities used daily by the public, as well as health centers mainly used by vulnerable groups. The Democratic Party said, "The core goal of this pledge is to bridge the information gap for vulnerable groups and contribute to reducing household communication expenses, thereby improving quality of life," adding, "Especially, the communication cost reduction effect will be significant for young people in their 20s and 30s."

First, this year, the plan is to install 5,100 WiFi units on city buses nationwide, 5,300 in elementary, middle, and high schools, 2,000 in transportation facilities such as terminals, 1,000 in cultural, sports, and tourism facilities, and 3,600 in health and welfare facilities.

From next year, the expansion will sequentially include village buses, railway stations, museums, art galleries, sports facilities, traditional markets, health centers, facilities for the disabled, and social welfare centers.

Meanwhile, the Justice Party announced on the same day a drastic general election pledge based on the concept of land public ownership, criticizing the government's real estate policy for failing to achieve results. For the 44% of the population who are non-homeowning tenants, they proposed introducing a rent ceiling linked to the consumer price index and extending the lease contract period from the current two years to three years. They also pledged to guarantee the right to request contract renewal twice, ensuring a minimum residence period of nine years.

They stated that the sale of public land to the private sector would be halted and that 'half of half-price' housing could be supplied through public development. The method proposed is for the public to retain land ownership and sell only the buildings. They also included a plan to provide monthly housing support allowances of 200,000 won for three years to single youth households aged 19 to 29. It is estimated that this will require about 1.2 trillion won annually.

As a measure to curb speculation, they pledged to push for increased comprehensive real estate taxes and higher holding tax rates on multi-homeowners. For an apartment priced at 1.3 billion won, the current holding tax (property tax + comprehensive real estate tax) is 1.6 million won, but under the Justice Party's plan, it would rise to 4.42 million won.

The Justice Party also announced plans to mandate that members of the National Assembly, ministers and vice ministers, heads of metropolitan local governments, city and provincial superintendents of education, and high-ranking public officials of grade 1 or higher dispose of any residential properties not used for living purposes within a certain period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.