Kim Boo-kyum: "It is true that house prices have risen under our government, a pointless debate"

Kim Boo-kyum, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea running for party leader, is answering reporters' questions at a press conference held on the morning of the 19th at Opera Wedding in Tanbang-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] Kim Boo-kyum, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea running for party leader, stated on the 26th regarding the issue of rising real estate prices, "It is true that real estate prices have risen significantly since our government took office."

On the same day, on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Kim commented on the political debate over which administration saw the most significant increase in real estate prices, saying, "To the public, it's a trivial debate," adding, "Data realistically shows that real estate prices have risen significantly since our government took office, so there is no need to keep arguing or fighting over it."

Kim further pointed out, "If you conduct a sample survey of a few brokerage offices in Gangnam, the results are clear," and added, "Since recent transaction details are reported, there is no need for prolonged debates on this matter."

Regarding the impact of real estate issues on the approval ratings of the government and the Democratic Party, Kim said, "It seems that expectations and disappointments toward us are high," and warned, "If the government does not signal its determination to solve the problem in any form, we may face a significant setback."

On the issue of the second round of disaster relief payments, he argued, "If social distancing moves to level 3, virtually all economic activities will be halted. How are self-employed people, who are directly hit, supposed to survive? In such cases, payments are inevitable."

He continued, "There has been no change since the first round of disaster relief payments. No new statistics or data have emerged. Therefore, we should first provide 100% payments but allow for recovery during year-end income adjustments or income tax filings for high-income earners and those with stable incomes," he added.

Kim also stated, "Emergency disaster relief payments need to be truly urgent to be effective, but too much time is spent on the selection process," and emphasized, "We should aim to distribute the payments before Chuseok."

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