[2023 Economic Policy] Surge in Visitors Due to Real Estate Regulation Easing... Ministry of Economy and Finance Website 'Down'

A joint briefing on next year's economic policy direction, attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, and representatives from six ministries, was held on the 21st at the Government Seoul Office. Deputy Prime Minister Choo is reading the announcement. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] After the government announced measures to ease real estate regulations, the Ministry of Economy and Finance's website experienced a surge in visitors, causing it to be 'down' for about an hour.

According to related ministries on the 21st, access disruptions occurred on the Ministry of Economy and Finance's website for about an hour starting from 2 p.m. The access issues arose immediately after the '2023 Economic Policy Direction' materials, announced by the government at 2 p.m. that day, were posted on the ministry's website. In response, the ministry displayed a message on the homepage stating, "There are currently many simultaneous users, so access is not smooth. Please try reconnecting shortly."

The access disruption on the ministry's website appears to be due to the real estate regulation easing measures included in the Economic Policy Direction. The policy direction contained regulatory relaxation plans such as easing acquisition and capital gains taxes for multi-homeowners, allowing a 30% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) on mortgage loans, and lowering short-term capital gains tax rates on pre-sale and move-in rights.

A Ministry of Economy and Finance official said, "The usual daily number of visitors to the website is about 10,000," adding, "It seems that access was delayed because more users than usual tried to access the site simultaneously."

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