Kim Hyun-mi "Additional Measures Will Be Taken Anytime in Balloon Effect Areas"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi is entering the briefing room at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th to make an announcement regarding real estate regulation measures. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, hinted at the possibility of additional regulations on non-regulated areas such as Gimpo and Paju in Gyeonggi Province, where housing prices have been soaring since the announcement of the June 17 real estate measures.

On the 26th, Minister Kim appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" and said, "We are continuously monitoring Gimpo and Paju, as well as other regions," adding, "If abnormal signs appear in the market, we will take action." He also added, "At the time of the June 17 measures announcement, we also considered whether to include Gimpo and Paju in the regulation targets." Regarding the reason for not designating the two areas as regulated zones, he explained, "At that time, the recent three-month housing price increase rate in the two regions did not exceed 1.3 times the inflation rate, so they did not meet the criteria for regulated areas."

Regarding the fact that only one aide sold a house despite Blue House Chief of Staff Noh Young-min directly instructing aides owning two or more houses to sell them within six months at the end of last year, he said, "It would have been better if they had sold their houses; I find that regrettable." He continued, "There needs to be a recovery system or tax system that supports the idea that owning multiple houses, especially multiple high-priced houses, should be a burden."

Minister Kim expressed her intention to strengthen real estate holding taxes such as comprehensive real estate tax and property tax. She emphasized, "According to a recent report by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, many countries around the world operate various tax systems to stabilize the real estate market," adding, "We will thoroughly review these systems and identify what can be supplemented if the government's measures are insufficient."

Regarding criticism that the June 17 real estate measures blocked jeonse (long-term deposit lease) loans for actual homebuyers, Minister Kim explained, "Jeonse loan funds are a measure to support low-income people who do not have funds when renting jeonse," adding, "Using those funds to purchase a home is different from the original purpose of the loan." She rebutted, "The proportion of gap investment using jeonse loans is about 43%, and since there is supply such as the Newlywed Hope Town for actual demanders, the criticism that the ladder for their home purchase was kicked away is not accurate." When asked if she would serve alongside President Moon Jae-in, she expressed a negative view, saying, "It would be a punishment."

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