The Democratic Party Launches Future Housing Promotion Team...Will It Achieve Effective Housing Stability?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party of Korea's 'Future Housing Promotion Team,' which handles the government's overall real estate policy, was launched on the 5th. Expectations and concerns are mixed regarding how effective the team's activities will be.

The Promotion Team held its inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly on the morning of the same day. The plan is to seek a paradigm shift in housing policy that reflects diversified housing demands due to social changes such as population structure, as well as solutions to housing difficulties.

Jin Sun-mi, chairperson of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, was appointed as the head of the team, with Chun Junho serving as deputy head. Lawmakers Choi Hye-young and Jang Kyung-tae also joined the team as female and youth committee members, respectively. Additionally, Lee Kwang-jae, head of the party's K-New Deal General Headquarters, is participating.

The formation of the Promotion Team follows instructions from party leader Lee Nak-yeon. Earlier, Leader Lee mentioned the necessity of the team, saying, "We need a new approach based on reflection on past real estate policies."

Leader Lee also attended the inauguration ceremony and argued that a new government department related to housing and regional development should be established. He said, "There have been consistent calls in our society to create a Housing and Regional Development Department that integrates related functions to build effective and consistent policies corresponding to housing, residential issues, and balanced regional development."

He added, "This includes unifying scattered housing-related policies and organizations across ministries, integrating related information and statistics to establish and implement efficient housing policies, as well as formulating policies and support measures by generation, region, and income."

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Leader Lee also emphasized the need to strengthen the role of public institutions. He stated, "We need to consider ways to enhance the public nature of housing and the public role and responsibility in housing issues. One option could be expanding the purchase of housing supply in the metropolitan area through LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation) or SH (Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation) to contribute to stabilizing real estate prices."

He further noted, "It is also expected to have the effect of leading a desirable future housing culture. Funding can be procured through various methods such as issuing public bonds."

However, contrary to Leader Lee's ambitions, skeptical views about the Promotion Team's activities have emerged. There are concerns that it will only serve to appease supporters dissatisfied with real estate policies rather than solving urgent issues. There are also criticisms that if ideas from the Promotion Team expand into actual policies, it could turn the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport into a 'rubber stamp' that only follows party instructions. In fact, Minister Kim Hyun-mi of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed during a parliamentary audit that there was no prior party-government consultation on the team's formation, suggesting that the ministry is likely to handle only practical tasks as directed.

These overlapping concerns reportedly made it difficult to compose the Promotion Team members. A Democratic Party lawmaker hinted, "We invited lawmakers well-versed in real estate policy, but many declined to join, so I understand that forming the committee was not easy."

Additionally, some argue that to establish legitimacy as a party organization, the party should first address its own multi-homeowners. According to a recent investigation by the Democratic Party's Ethics Inspection Team, there are 16 multi-homeowners within the party. The party has recommended that they dispose of their houses by March next year.

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