Hong Nam-ki: "Will Review and Supplement Real Estate Policies Within the Range That Does Not Undermine Market Stability"

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, Press Briefing on the 27th

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki is delivering opening remarks at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 27th.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, announced on the 27th that he will review whether there are any parts of the real estate policy targeting actual demanders such as non-homeowners and one-homeowners that need to be supplemented within the scope of not undermining market stability.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong held a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong in the afternoon and said, "Regarding some recent real estate policy issues raised, the government is reviewing them within the scope of not disturbing the overall framework and principles of the policy."

On the same day, the Democratic Party of Korea discussed ▲ easing loan regulations such as loan-to-value ratio (LTV) and debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for first-time buyers and non-homeowners ▲ raising the property tax base from 900 million KRW to 1.2 billion KRW ▲ reducing tax benefits for rental business operators ▲ easing the comprehensive real estate holding tax, and Deputy Prime Minister Hong is interpreted to have made his remarks with these in mind.

He explained, "Since the announcement of the 2.4 Plan, the real estate market, which had been showing a difficult trend toward stabilization, has seen the rate of increase in Seoul apartment prices expand again for two consecutive weeks since mid-April, which is concerning," adding, "We are closely monitoring worrisome trends such as in the reconstruction market with vigilance." He also emphasized, "The government is pursuing real estate policies under three major principles: eradicating speculative demand, expanding housing supply, and protecting actual demanders," and stressed, "There will be no wavering in the overall framework and principles going forward." He added, "Market participants should also consider that excessive expectations may lead to disappointment."

Regarding the preliminary figure for the first quarter domestic gross domestic product (GDP) announced that morning, which recorded a 1.6% growth exceeding market expectations, he said, "We have once again confirmed the strength of our economy's recovery and rebound," and emphasized, "This year, our economy is fully capable of continuing a growth path exceeding the initial forecast (3.2%)." He also explained, "In the second quarter, to enhance the resilience of the private sector, we will strengthen dialogue and communication with economic agents such as companies, and respond with full force to maintain a fast and strong recovery flow through resolving export logistics difficulties and supporting non-face-to-face and online consumption," adding, "We plan to comprehensively re-examine changes in domestic and international conditions and actively devise stimulus measures to support improvements in private investment, domestic demand, and exports in the second half of the year, and announce the economic policy direction for the second half (Ha-gyeong-jeong) around mid-June."

Regarding his current role as Acting Prime Minister before the formal appointment of Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum, he said, "The purpose and goal of the Acting Prime Minister is to minimize the role to only what is necessary during the period before the new Prime Minister's appointment, while ensuring that there is no gap in national administration even by a fraction, especially concerning urgent national issues such as quarantine, vaccines, and policy coordination," and mentioned, "I will do my best to perform the duties of Acting Prime Minister during the remaining 10 days and will not neglect my role as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, carrying out both roles without any setbacks."

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