Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee. [Newsis]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee. [Newsis]

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee sparked a backlash after proposing that decommissioned buses be converted into living spaces — a concept he called "Bus House" — as a way to expand housing supply for young people. The People Power Party demanded he retract the proposal and apologize, saying it would turn youth into "refugees on the road."

Hwang posted on Facebook on Friday, citing Amsterdam's practice of converting old and secondhand vessels into houseboats, and said he was "proposing a program to remodel decommissioned buses into residential spaces and offer them as short-term housing for young people near university campuses."

He argued that "even if remodeling costs are set at around 50 million won ($35,200) per unit, 10,000 units would amount to only about 500 billion won in total," and suggested the buses could be designed either as self-driving mobile units or as trailer-style units towed by other vehicles. He added that because the government's housing supply policy relies heavily on the private sector and may therefore be slow, the bus houses "could serve as temporary housing for young people before they secure stable homes, and have the advantage of being deployable quickly — making them well worth considering."

People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Chung-kwon fired back in a statement, asking "Is this truly a plan for the youth, the future of our nation?" and telling Hwang to "set an example by moving into Bus House No. 1 yourself, along with your family, right now." Park also said Amsterdam's floating homes "are no more than a niche alternative housing option, even in the Netherlands, a country with the geographic peculiarity of reclaimed land and canals," and demanded Hwang "immediately retract this outrageous remark that has driven a nail into the hearts of young people and grovel before the public."

Park also called on the presidential office to "state its official position on this kind of housing policy idea that would push young people into buses."

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok wrote on Facebook that the party "is not even creating jobs for young people, but telling them to live in converted buses," and noted that the homeownership rate among young adults had fallen to 27.7 percent — below 30 percent for the first time since statistics were reorganized in 2017. PPP lawmaker Ju Jin-woo said: "Is this sane? I'm filled with rage. The very fact that someone could come up with this idea means the Democratic Party's real estate policy has completely collapsed."

As criticism spread, Hwang deleted his original post and uploaded a clarification, saying he had heard that "young people felt offended." He said the Bus House concept was "purely at the level of an idea" and that it was "even further from the truth" to suggest the government was pursuing such a policy. That clarification post was later also deleted.

Meanwhile, Lee Eon-ju, a lawmaker aligned with the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction within the Democratic Party, wrote on Facebook that regarding the government's proposed real estate tax overhaul, "in a situation like the present, where the supply of jeonse and monthly rent housing is insufficient, there is a high likelihood that the policy's effects will differ from its intent." She questioned "why the government is pushing ahead with a measure that would drive up both jeonse and monthly rent prices as well as sale prices, creating serious instability in residential conditions."

On ultra-high-priced homes, Lee also stressed that "there needs to be a more thorough explanation and review of whether a policy combination that simultaneously strengthens both holding taxes and transaction taxes is consistent with the policy goals of market stabilization and expanded supply."


psj@heraldcorp.com