Lee Jae-myung "New Housing Development Through Undergrounding Gyeongin Line and Line 1"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is delivering the keynote speech at a debate hosted by the Korea Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, said, "We are at the stage of considering supplying above-ground land through the undergrounding of the Gyeongin Line, Subway Line 1, and highways, and reviewing some of the Yongsan site or Seongnam and Gimpo Airports."

On the evening of the 30th, Lee appeared on MBC's 'News Desk' and made this statement in response to a question about how much the housing supply plan has been prepared.

Lee explained, "I have recently made many detailed changes related to real estate policy. For example, if we need to increase supply, we plan to increase the supply by relaxing floor and floor area ratio regulations in redevelopment and reconstruction in Seoul, and having the public sector reclaim part of the additional portion to supply as public housing."

He added, "Since it takes a lot of time to discover new housing sites, if existing multi-homeowners put their properties on the market, supply can be immediate, so we propose temporarily easing the heavy capital gains tax to give them an opportunity to exit."

However, Lee said, "Since I was also a member of this government (Moon Jae-in administration), I am not in a position to comment on real estate policy as a third party," and added, "So I did not say 'it was wrong' as a third party but apologized by saying 'I'm sorry.' I am also in a position to take responsibility."

Regarding the increased attacks from Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, Lee said, "Even the same content can be delivered in a completely different way, but using angry and violent language will not help the person himself."

On the controversy over the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCIU)'s communication data inquiry, Lee said, "The HCIU probably collected investigative basic data according to the law on matters under its jurisdiction," and added, "If that is seen as surveillance, I don't know how to explain the hundreds of millions of communication data inquiries conducted annually by Yoon Seok-youl's prosecution."

Regarding Yoon's pledge to abolish the Blue House's Second Office if elected, Lee evaluated, "Even if I don't have the skill to make jang (fermented paste), someone else can make it, so the jangdokdae (fermentation pots) should remain," and added, "It seems he cannot distinguish between systems and people. It's somewhat dangerous."

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