Noh Young-min on Why Ordinary People Buy Houses While Going into Debt: "Because of Expectations of House Price Increases"

No Young-min, Chief of Staff to the President, is attending the full meeting of the National Assembly Steering Committee on the 25th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] No Young-min, Chief of Staff to the President, said on the 2nd that the reason why ordinary people take out loans to buy houses might be "because of expectations of rising house prices."

On the same day, during the National Assembly Steering Committee meeting, No responded to a question from Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, who asked, "Why would ordinary people try to buy houses even if the government regulates loans and imposes taxes?"

In response to No's answer, Kim criticized, "Seeing the people so negatively is why the Moon Jae-in administration's policies turned out this way," and pointed out, "The 30-40 age group raising children considers buying a house with debt a rational choice because they cannot keep moving due to their children's elementary school issues."

During the committee meeting, the controversy over the "privileged military service" of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, Seo Mo, was also mentioned.

Kim Do-eup, a member of the People Power Party, referred to the controversy over Minister Choo's son's leave and asked No, "You should have thoroughly verified (Minister Choo). Did you recommend her knowing these facts?"

No replied, "If there was a problem with the appointment of (Minister Choo), it would be my fault as the chair of the personnel recommendation committee, but we judged that there was no problem with the appointment."

Regarding Kim's continued criticism that Seo violated military regulations by taking 19 days of leave, No said, "There are differing opinions and claims," and added, "I believe it will be revealed through the prosecution's investigation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, during the questioning process on the same day, a controversy over sexual harassment arose when Lee Tae-heum of the People Power Party and Kim Jin-ae of the Open Democratic Party had a verbal dispute accompanied by physical contact, causing the Steering Committee to be temporarily suspended.

Kim Jin-ae stated during a procedural speech in the committee, "After Kim Tae-heum finished his questioning, he came to my seat, tapped my back, and told me not to interrupt," and added, "I feel very uncomfortable." She said, "The National Assembly is a place for speaking, so how can a member of the National Assembly touch another member?" and demanded, "I can't believe it. Apologize."

Kim Tae-heum explained, "During my questioning, I only had 7 minutes, and after gaining the floor, Kim Jin-ae interrupted twice or three times," and said, "Because it was questioning time, I couldn't go to her seat and speak loudly, so I made a subtle gesture by lightly touching her to get her attention, but she criticizes me for that as if it was offensive."

Kim Tae-heum added, "Since it was someone else's questioning time, I was trying to speak quietly," and questioned, "Is it right to interrupt by making 'ya-ji' (a Korean expression for heckling) instead of delivering your position through a procedural speech?"

In response, Kim Jin-ae argued, "In various judgments of sexual crimes, how the victim feels is important," and said, "This is not about sexual violence, but no one, male or female, should poke someone's back without their knowledge. Moreover, I have never met Kim Tae-heum before."

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