[Comprehensive] "Real Estate Behind Shift in Public Opinion" Democratic Party Reflects on 'Housing Price Issue'

United Future Party Surpasses Democratic Party Support for the First Time Since 'Park Geun-hye Impeachment'
Lee Nak-yeon: "Relative Deprivation Due to Rising Real Estate Prices"
Kim Boo-kyum, Lee Jae-myung, Park Joo-min Agree the Biggest Issue Is Also 'Real Estate'

Park Ju-min, Lee Nak-yeon, and Kim Bu-gyeom, candidates running for the Democratic Party of Korea leadership election, are posing after attending the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regional broadcast debate at Busan MBC on the 31st of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kang Joo-hee] As the Democratic Party's party support rating was overtaken by the Future United Party for the first time since the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, ruling party figures pointed to the 'real estate issue' as the cause of the decline in approval ratings.

On the 13th, Representative Lee Nak-yeon said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Sisa Jaki Jung Kwan-yong imnida' that the reason for the party's decline in support was "Gyeonggi Province has not recovered, and the rise in real estate prices and the resulting relative deprivation have expanded."

Lee said, "In certain areas of Seoul, prices have risen significantly, but in the provinces, prices have fallen, creating a sense of deprivation. There may be questions about why this has not been properly addressed," adding, "Regarding jeonse and monthly rent, speaking like a critic was insufficient in understanding the hearts of the people suffering from housing issues."

Representative Kim Boo-kyum also said in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Lee Seung-won's The World and Us' on the same day, "The biggest reason for the drastic change in public sentiment is the real estate issue," analyzing, "Multi-homeowners are angry due to increased taxes, and those who have been waiting and preparing to buy their own homes seem dissatisfied, fearing they might lose the opportunity."

Kim said, "Seeing the criticism from the public that I have felt on the ground reflected in the numbers is embarrassing and makes me feel a sense of crisis."

However, on the 14th, Kim posted on his Facebook, "(Regarding real estate measures) We have introduced demand suppression and large-scale supply measures, and there will definitely be results in the long term," emphasizing the continuation of existing policies by saying, "It is more dangerous to twist policies just because approval ratings have dropped immediately."

On the 13th, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is speaking at the 'Fair Procurement is the Answer! Gyeonggi Province Policy Forum for the Introduction of a Fair Procurement System' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Yonhap News

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung also diagnosed the reason for the decline in approval ratings as "the biggest influence is the real estate issue."

At a forum held at the National Assembly that day, Lee told reporters, "While the public acknowledges the need for real estate regulations, the pain and difficulties caused by those policies seem to have greatly affected the approval ratings."

He added, "We must make the public understand that it was an inevitable measure to maintain the national community," and predicted, "In the long run, since it is the right path, things will return to normal after some time. If the pain is great and there is no effect, dissatisfaction will continue, but if the results are good, things can gradually improve."

Representative Park Joo-min also appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 14th, saying, "A large part of the decline in approval ratings is due to real estate policies," and added, "In the recent policy implementation process, it seems we failed to meet the public's expectations or caused frustration and disappointment. We should have had more dialogue with the public and explained the policy effects better, but we were somewhat lacking."

Park said, however, "I believe the current direction of real estate policy is correct," and predicted, "The government's real estate policy is moving in a direction to eliminate factors seeking excessive profits, so it will take time to achieve effectiveness. The decline in approval ratings can recover once the real estate policy shows some results."

Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by Realmeter commissioned by TBS from the 10th to the 12th, targeting 1,507 adults nationwide, the Democratic Party's support rating was 33.4%, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous week, while the United Party rose 1.9 percentage points to 36.5%. This is the first time since the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye that a conservative party has surpassed the Democratic Party in support ratings.

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