The Opposition Party's Final Leadership Debate... Song on 'Vaccine', Hong on 'Unity', Woo on 'Livelihood'

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Song Young-gil, Hong Young-pyo, and Woo Won-shik, candidates for the Democratic Party leader, engaged in a fierce debate until the last moment during the final discussion held ahead of the party convention scheduled for the 2nd. Song Young-gil focused on 'securing COVID-19 vaccines,' Hong Young-pyo emphasized 'unity,' and Woo Won-shik highlighted 'livelihood,' clearly stating their positions while also reiterating their stances on individual issues such as real estate policies.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, the three candidates appeared on KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," where they each emphasized the issues they prioritized to win voters' support. Hong Young-pyo stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration must become a successful government that overcomes the COVID-19 crisis and economic crisis until the very end," referring to his long-standing theme of "leadership through unity." As a key figure among the pro-Moon faction, Hong stressed that he is the right person to play a pivotal role in close discussions and cooperation among the party, government, and Blue House.

In response, Song Young-gil said, "It is not enough to just moderately change and unite," emphasizing the need to support the Moon administration with clear solutions on real estate and COVID-19 vaccine issues. As the chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Song said, "I will mobilize all diplomatic networks to support the government's efforts to secure vaccines, complete herd immunity, and revitalize the economy of ordinary citizens."

Woo Won-shik, who launched the "Euljiro Committee" advocating for "protecting the Eul (the underprivileged)," has consistently emphasized livelihood since announcing his candidacy for party leader. On this day, Woo evaluated, "The most important cause of the recent by-election defeat was the issue of people's livelihood and the failure to improve citizens' lives," showcasing his capabilities in pursuing livelihood politics.

Regarding real estate policy, Hong Young-pyo and Woo Won-shik jointly criticized Song Young-gil's proposal to relax the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) to 90%. Song has pledged to raise the LTV to 90% for actual homebuyers.

Song Young-gil announced that if elected party leader, he would pilot the "Anyone Can Have a House Project," which he promoted as mayor of Incheon, in 17 cities nationwide. Song explained, "Currently, 1,098 households are under construction in Incheon. By paying only 10% of the house price, people can secure the right to purchase the house at the initial sale price anytime, eliminating the need for speculative demand and enabling those who genuinely want to own a home to do so at an affordable price."

He added, "44% of domestic households are without a home, and about 10% of them intend to buy a house. This number decreases further when targeting first-time homebuyers, actual demanders, and newlyweds. Applying long-term mortgages and requiring a five-year holding period can control any impact on house price surges." He emphasized, "This is incomparable to the Park Geun-hye administration's policy of loosening LTV to 80%, encouraging people to buy houses with debt."

However, other candidates pointed out that Song's LTV relaxation pledge is risky.

Hong Young-pyo said, "'Anyone Can Have a House Project' has raised various issues. While existing policies should be well maintained, partial improvements can be made where necessary."

He explained, "Relaxing financial loans to 90% for youth and newlyweds is dangerous if it is not based on borrowers' income or future income, as it could cause serious social problems. South Korea has the fastest-growing household debt ratio worldwide, and I cannot agree with lending to this extent." He added, "It's no different from the logic of 'buy a house with debt.' While some adjustment to loan regulation easing is necessary, I oppose raising it to 90%."

Woo Won-shik also criticized Song's "Anyone Can Have a House Project," pointing out, "It has caused many side effects," and warned, "Such projects should not be discussed recklessly before becoming more concrete."

He pointedly remarked, "I believe that maintaining house prices by easing comprehensive real estate tax, DTI, and LTV sends the wrong signal to the market and is a very wrong policy."

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