Government Fanning the Flames of the Burning Jeonse House

Government Announces Jeonse Measures Supplying 114,000 Households
Market Criticizes as Numbers Filled Without Considering Demand
Hotel Room Supply Sparks "Better Support Camping Cars" Calls
Controversy Over Avoiding Responsibility for Policy Failure, Public Dissatisfaction Grows

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi is announcing support measures for housing stability for low-income and middle-class citizens on the morning of the 19th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Yoo In-ho and Moon Je-won] "Is this a quality jeonse house? If it's such a good house, then you should move in and live there yourselves."

The government's jeonse policy has ignited public sentiment already inflamed by the implementation of the Lease 3 Act. Rather than calming market anxiety, the policy is only deepening distrust, creating a vicious cycle. In particular, criticism is mounting that the government's refusal to acknowledge policy failure is further worsening public sentiment.

According to industry sources on the 20th, after the government announced the "Support Plan for Housing Stability for Low-income and Middle-class Households," which includes a plan to supply 114,000 jeonse-type rental homes, critical posts expressing distrust and dissatisfaction with the policy have flooded real estate communities and social networking services (SNS).

A man in his 40s living in Seoul, Mr. A, said, "They say they will supply quality homes, but if you look at the details of the plan, it's all multi-family and row houses," adding, "It sounds like they're saying if you can't afford the jeonse price of apartments that have risen by hundreds of millions of won, then go live in row houses or multi-family homes." There were also many complaints about the plan to supply housing by converting hotels. On SNS and other platforms, posts such as "Ruling party and government officials should move into hotel rooms first," "Better to support camping cars," and "Even if hotels are converted, can ventilation, heating, and cooking be done properly?" have been posted.

The frontline brokerage industry's response is also cold. A representative from A Real Estate Agency in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, said, "The vacant houses that the government says it will immediately put on the jeonse market are small rental complexes for low-income households where even a three-person family would find it cramped," adding, "There are even comments saying this is not a jeonse policy but a 'vacant house policy.'"

In fact, the plan to utilize vacant houses that can be supplied immediately as part of this policy is receiving heavy criticism. The government has announced that it will supply about 39,000 jeonse-type units from public rental housing owned by Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) and Seoul Housing Corporation (SH) that have been vacant for more than three months. Online real estate communities have continued to criticize the government policy with comments like "Recycling public rental housing that even can't fill tenants with low-income people," and "There are already many vacancies, so why supply more rental housing?"

Public opinion is more disappointed with the government's market perception itself than with the policy content. Regarding the government's claim that the cause of the jeonse shortage is not the Lease 3 Act or other policies, posts with strong criticism such as "This is the level of the current government," "What can the government do?" and "Better not to release any policy at all" are appearing. An industry official expressed concern, saying, "After the government announced the jeonse policy, dissatisfaction has only intensified," adding, "With trust in the political sphere and government policies broken, it will be difficult for any policy to be effective."

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