Criticism of "You Go to Public Rental"... Ruling Party Fires Back with "Resident Insult" and "Construction Industry Perspective"

Yoo Seung-min "Moon, By What Right Do You Tell Me to Give Up My Dream of Owning a Home?"
Criticism from Ruling Party Over Government Public Housing Policy
Kim Jong-min "Derogatory Remarks About Public Housing Residents"
Shin Dong-geun "Public Housing Is Necessary for Basic Housing Rights"

Shin Dong-geun, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The ruling party is launching a fierce attack against former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who criticized President Moon Jae-in's remarks on public rental housing by saying, "You go, public rental." Critics point out that his comments insult not only the purpose of public housing policies but also the people actually living in public housing.

Kim Jong-min, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized at the party's Supreme Council meeting on the 14th, saying, "The offensive against the president extends to disparaging public housing and insulting those who reside there," adding, "The core conversation between President Moon and those responsible was about increasing more and better-quality rental housing, but some media reports were completely different."

He continued, "It is serious that politicians mobilize without even verifying the facts. It is an irresponsible political offensive," he pointed out.

Another Supreme Council member from the same party, Shin Dong-geun, targeted former lawmaker Yoo, saying, "In reality, many people can hardly even dream of private apartments, and public housing is necessary to protect their basic housing rights," and criticized, "Former lawmaker Yoo ignores this reality and stands in the position of construction and civil engineering businesses."

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung also criticized the opposition's criticism of the government's public housing policy on the same day, arguing that it belittles socially vulnerable groups.

In a post on Facebook, Lawmaker Ko wrote, "They do not care that their words make those living in public rental housing, in homes under 13 pyeong (approximately 43 square meters), even more miserable," and added, "It is frustrating that they do not realize their randomly wielded blades are leaving indelible wounds on someone."

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Yoo criticized the government's public housing policy in a Facebook post on the 12th. He said, "Yesterday, President Moon said in Dongtan, 'Even if you do not own your own home, create a housing ladder through (public) rental,' and said, 'A 13-pyeong apartment can accommodate a family of four and a pet dog.'

He added, "Ordinary people have dreams of owning their own homes, but the president told them to give up such 'foolish dreams,'" and criticized, "'The president's ladder' is living in a 13-pyeong public rental with a family of four and a pet dog, then moving to 18-pyeong and 25-pyeong public rentals."

He further criticized, "What right does the president have to tell people to give up their dreams of owning a home?" and said, "After losing the balance between the market and the state and causing a real estate disaster, he coldly blames the people, saying, 'Why do you insist on owning? You can just live in public rental housing.'"

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the 'Desirable Rental Housing' briefing held on the morning of the 11th at Dongtan Public Rental Housing, a commemorative complex for 1 million LH rental homes in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the morning of the 11th, President Moon visited the Dongtan joint rental housing complex, a commemorative site for 1 million rental homes by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

During the visit, when nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Chang-heum introduced, "This is a 44㎡, 13-pyeong apartment. The rooms are small, but if there are two children, one can be placed upstairs and one downstairs, and by rearranging, two desks can be placed for studying together," President Moon said, "One child is standard for newlyweds, and for young children, two are possible."

When nominee Byun explained, "If the president supplies housing suitable for middle-class residents this time, even families with two children can live while exceeding the minimum housing standards," President Moon emphasized, "We need to create a housing ladder that allows people to move from these basic homes to more comfortable and better mid-sized apartments, and even if they do not necessarily own their own homes, rental housing can develop into sufficiently good housing."

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