Minister Park Sang-woo: "Prioritizing the Resolution of Regulations on Re-charging Tax, Floor Area Ratio System, and Safety Inspections"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo identified the priority regulations to be addressed as the Reconstruction Excess Profit Recovery System (재초환), the private land sale price ceiling system, and safety inspections. Comparing the regulations under the Moon Jae-in administration to medicine taken for a cold, he said, "No one continues to take medicine after their condition has normalized. When it's time to stop, you must stop," expressing his commitment to persuading the National Assembly to pass related bills.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is answering questions at a meeting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport press corps held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 2nd. / Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

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On the 2nd, Minister Park met with reporters covering the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the Government Complex Sejong to mark his 100th day in office, stating, "The issue is whether to completely abolish the Reconstruction Excess Profit Recovery Act, which was created to block reconstruction." This reflects the judgment that there are few areas where reconstruction can proceed through market forces given the significant increase in construction costs.

Regarding real estate transaction prices, he analyzed, "In the case of apartments, compared to the peak in October 2021, prices are now at about 85-90%, passing through a calm wave." He viewed the jeonse (long-term lease) prices similarly, not considering them worrisome. Minister Park explained, "Analyzing data on lease contract renewals shows that about 40-45% of areas are experiencing reverse jeonse," adding, "In this situation, it is difficult to say that jeonse prices are rising dangerously nationwide." However, he added, "We also have measures ready to take immediate action if jeonse prices begin to rise overall."

Regarding unsold housing units, he said there are no separate measures planned for the Seoul metropolitan area. He stated, "Unsold housing in local areas is at a quite serious level, so we introduced Corporate Restructuring (CR) REITs," but "the unsold housing problem in the metropolitan area is not as severe as in local areas, so we are not devising special measures."

He also assessed that the construction industry is undergoing a soft landing. He said, "Although there are many issues with real estate project financing (PF), we aim for a soft landing through inter-ministerial cooperation," adding, "We will quickly process the 179 tasks disclosed at the public livelihood forum through administrative legislation and presidential decrees, and regardless of the general election results, we will cooperate well with the 22nd National Assembly."

Regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Area Express Train (GTX) Line A section from Suseo to Dongtan, which opened on the 30th of last month, he self-assessed, "It has been operating smoothly without any problems up to this time, and public satisfaction is high." Responding to criticism that actual demand is lower than the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's forecast, he explained, "Guseong Station, which accounts for 25% of the demand, has not yet opened," adding, "Passengers need a 'ramp-up' period to check connecting transportation networks and change existing travel patterns." He further said, "I was rather worried that GTX-A might be too crowded," and added, "The initial popularity before the opening of Guseong Station is not bad. We plan to observe a little longer."

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