Kwon Seong-dong: "'Rent Freeze Law' Is Divisive" vs Jeong Cheong-rae: "It's About Giving Benefits Evenly"

Kwon Seong-dong, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Regarding the so-called 'Rent Freeze Act' proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea to support self-employed individuals struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, criticized it as "dividing landlords and tenants." In response, Jeong Cheong-rae, a Democratic Party lawmaker, rebutted by saying, "The intention is to provide benefits evenly."

Earlier, on the 14th, Lee Dong-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea took the lead in proposing an amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act. The bill primarily stipulates that landlords cannot charge rent during the quarantine period imposed by infectious disease control measures, and during the restricted gathering period, landlords can only charge up to 50% of the existing rent.

On the 16th, Representative Kwon appeared on KBS1's 'Sasa Geongeon' and criticized the bill, saying, "It feels like landlords are suddenly being forced to sacrifice and share the pain," adding, "During the previous medical strike, even though doctors devoted themselves to overcoming COVID-19, it was said that the dedication was not from doctors but nurses, which divided doctors and nurses."

He emphasized, "Landlords also worked hard to purchase their stores, and if landlords do not reduce rent, they are labeled as greedy and bad people. This approach is really wrong," and added, "Sharing pain is fine, but it must be done according to market economy principles."

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Yonhap News

In response, Representative Jeong, who appeared on the same broadcast, said, "This is not about dividing sides," and argued, "Emergency support must be provided to small business owners whose sales have almost completely stopped due to the closure of their businesses."

He explained the purpose of the bill, saying, "The government's position is not to divide into 'your side' or 'my side' but to provide benefits evenly," and "If rent is reduced for tenants, then landlords should receive tax freezes; such policies are what we are proposing."

Representative Jeong continued, "In Canada, for example, if rent is reduced by 75%, landlords receive about 50% compensation through tax benefits, which has already become a role model," and said, "We will prepare policies that care for both tenants and landlords without bias or imbalance."

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