Nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum Faces Unusual Meeting with Opposition Urging Resignation

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Political circles and the market are voicing criticism regarding Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister nominee Byeon Chang-heum's unusual decision to hold a press briefing before his appointment was confirmed.

The reason is that, as a nominee who has not yet undergone the National Assembly confirmation hearing process, he was seen as moving too far ahead by presenting opinions and visions on real estate policy. It is said to be unprecedented.

The opposition party People Power Party urged Byeon to resign immediately after his online press briefing on the 18th.

Kim Ye-ryeong, spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized in a statement, “Byeon suddenly held a press briefing, calling himself an expert with field experience and confidently promising to expand housing supply,” adding, “The confirmation hearing has not even been held yet, and there are numerous suspicions to be clarified, but he is already acting like a minister.”

In this press briefing, nominee Byeon expressed his stance mainly on two areas: housing supply plans and maintaining real estate regulations such as redevelopment and reconstruction.

Regarding housing supply plans, Byeon stated, “There is enough land within downtown Seoul to supply housing,” and expressed his intention to dramatically increase housing supply by developing semi-industrial areas and low-rise multi-family residential areas into mid-rise high-density housing.

He said, “Contrary to common belief, there is sufficient land within downtown Seoul for housing supply,” citing semi-industrial areas (20㎢) and low-rise multi-family residential areas (111㎢) in Seoul as new apartment supply sites.

This area is larger than the total area of the three Gangnam districts (120㎢) and amounts to nearly 40 million pyeong in size. Theoretically, it is an area capable of supplying 1.33 million households. Additionally, Byeon identified areas near 307 subway stations in Seoul as potential development sites (likely mixed-use residential-commercial complexes).

Regarding solutions to the jeonse (long-term lease) crisis, Byeon said, “We plan to focus on utilizing areas near subway stations, factory sites, low-rise residential areas, and land owned by public institutions to supply public jeonse and purchased rental housing.”

Byeon responded that he would continue regulations on privately led reconstruction and redevelopment. This is interpreted as maintaining the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s existing policy focus on regulation.

He stated, “Private reconstruction and redevelopment provide enormous public benefits,” adding, “Some level of regulation is inevitable from an urban management perspective.” This is understood as his intention to continue current regulations such as the reconstruction excess profit recovery system, strengthened safety inspections, price ceiling system, and increased rental ratio measures.

He further explained, “We can secure public pre-investment or circulating rental housing in advance or simplify urban planning procedures,” and “We will prepare additional incentives and develop new business models to revitalize public reconstruction and redevelopment.”

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