"Real Estate Crisis" but... President Moon: "Even if you don't necessarily own a home" · Byeon Chang-heum: "A Good Opportunity"

President Moon Jae-in is seen on the morning of the 11th at the Dongtan public rental housing complex, commemorating 1 million LH rental housing units in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. He is inspecting single-story rental housing units and having a conversation with Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Byeon Chang-heum, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (current LH president). 2020.12.11 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 11th, President Moon Jae-in met with Byun Chang-heum, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (currently President of Korea Land and Housing Corporation), and said, "Even if people do not necessarily own their own homes, rental housing can sufficiently develop into good housing, a kind of 'housing ladder.' We need to build that well." Byun referred to the real estate crisis, which has become the biggest social issue, as a "paradoxically good opportunity."

At around 11 a.m. that day, President Moon visited the 'Hwaseong Dongtan Happy Housing Complex' in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and toured public rental housing with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi and nominee Byun. It is unusual for the current minister and the next minister nominee to accompany the president on an external schedule simultaneously.

Upon arriving at the rental housing site, President Moon received an overview of the rental housing complex from nominee Byun. During the tour inside the housing, he mentioned building a 'housing ladder' through rental housing. Byun agreed, saying, "I think if rental housing can be supplied step-by-step to match the growth of children, rental housing itself can become a housing ladder."

In particular, when President Moon said, "The housing issue has now emerged as the top issue in our society, gathering public attention," and added, "We need to boldly invest financially beyond existing limits and fundamentally change various ideas, such as diversifying housing sizes," nominee Byun responded, "It seems like a very good, paradoxically good opportunity."

During the event, President Moon repeatedly made requests to nominee Byun. He emphasized, "In the future, we should be able to create rental apartments where the middle class can comfortably live and that anyone would want to live in. You should put a lot of emphasis on this."

He also reminded him of the need to build living infrastructure such as welfare and cultural facilities near public rental housing, saying, "Now that the basics are in place, first increase the quantity and improve the quality; you must do both," urging him again.

In response, nominee Byun said, "If the president instills a strong will regarding the budget, it is possible to expand housing sizes and improve quality," adding, "Currently, due to budget constraints, smaller sizes are the default." He continued, "We can increase the size and the investment amount, but there is a quality difference between private sales and public sales. If there is will regarding the budget, the quality will be determined by that will, so I hope the president will... (make efforts)," he added.

President Moon Jae-in is walking while inspecting the rental housing complex at Dongtan Public Rental Housing, a commemorative complex for 1 million LH rental housing units, in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 11th, together with Kim Hyun-mee, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Byeon Chang-heum, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (current LH president). 2020.12.11
Photo by Yonhap News

After touring the housing interiors, President Moon moved to the daycare center located within the complex to listen to a report from Minister Kim. Minister Kim announced plans to expand public rental housing targeting the middle class, improve living convenience facilities, and spread mixed complexes of sale and rental housing. She also shared plans to supply an additional 63,000 medium-sized homes by 2025.

Meanwhile, nominee Byun has yet to undergo the National Assembly confirmation hearing and appointment procedures. Nevertheless, criticism has arisen that accompanying the president on an external schedule disregards the parliamentary verification process. When President Moon received a confidential briefing from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki on the 8th, he also encouraged, saying, "The Ministry of Economy and Finance should make special efforts to fully discuss the supply plans envisioned by the new minister candidate." Regarding this, the Blue House explained, "The schedule was confirmed before the announcement of the next minister nominee."

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