[Reporter’s Notebook] Finally Replaced Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Yet Reasons for Continued Concern

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport nominee Byeon Chang-heum is arriving at the Seoul Regional Land Management Office in Gwacheon on the morning of the 7th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] 'Only after the flowers fell did I realize it was spring'

This phrase represents the reaction pouring out from the market after Byun Chang-heum, president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), was nominated as the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 4th. Despite Kim Hyun-mi, who served as the first Minister of Land under the Moon Jae-in administration for three and a half years and was criticized for only driving up housing prices, stepping down, the market is showing the opposite reaction.

Nominee Byun is an expert in housing and welfare who previously served as a professor in the Department of Public Administration at Sejong University and has held key leadership roles as president of major public housing corporations such as Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) and LH. The Blue House stated the reason for his appointment was that he "combines theory and practice" and "possesses a high understanding of the field and policy expertise."

However, most market participants’ reactions are cold. This is because Byun recently compared the housing policies of the Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye, and Moon Jae-in administrations in the National Assembly, stating, "This government is the best. Among the 'high, medium, low' ratings, it is above 'medium-high,'" leading to expectations that he will continue the current administration’s policy direction.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi and nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Chang-heum visited a purchased rental housing located in Eunpyeong-gu on the 22nd of last month and inspected the interior.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Nominee Byun’s market perception is not much different from Minister Kim’s judgment, who has blamed low interest rates, household diversification, and the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations for the rapid rise in housing prices. He previously argued in real estate communities that information exchange there stirs market anxiety and drives up housing prices, and claimed that the supply shortage in the metropolitan area is a baseless "psychological concern." This is why the reaction "the old guard was the best" is already emerging.

Concerns about political bias have also been raised. A representative example is content revealed in a book he wrote five years ago. He explained that "the older the person, the higher the support rate for conservative parties," and that they support conservative parties because these parties can increase the value of their housing assets for a stable retirement.

The reason housing prices have risen under the current administration is clear. Prices do not rise if supply is sufficient without separate market intervention. On the other hand, the government has only reduced supply through artificial market interventions. Nevertheless, the cause was sought elsewhere, such as low interest rates. In this process, public sentiment toward government policy has deteriorated severely.

The Blue House expects nominee Byun to "accelerate the supply of quality housing and create housing policies with a strong sense of the field." Everyone knows that what the people want is not 'bread' but 'a home.' The beginning of the solution is a correct understanding of the situation.

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