Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee [Hwang's Facebook]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee [Hwang's Facebook]

Criticism is mounting over a proposal by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee, who represents the Yangcheon-gap district in Seoul, to convert decommissioned buses into housing for young people.

Progressive Party spokesperson Lee Mi-seon issued a statement titled "Poverty must not be a reason for death," saying Hwang "proposed scrapped buses as a youth housing measure, drew a public backlash and then belatedly tried to explain himself." She called the proposal "a pitifully shallow understanding of the harsh reality facing the housing-vulnerable, and a devastating act of deception."

She added that what young people and the housing-vulnerable urgently need "is not a makeshift shelter where they have to squeeze themselves in, but a real, safe and livable home where they can stretch out and rest without fear for their lives."

People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said in a statement that the idea of "offering buses as homes after wrecking the housing supply is not just an insult to the public — it pours fuel on an already furious public mood." He said, "Is the answer for young people who cannot afford housing costs really to live in a bus?" and added, "If this policy has any sincerity behind it, make your own children live in a bus first."

PPP chief spokesperson Park Chung-kwon also said in a Friday statement that Hwang should "set an example by moving into bus house No. 1 himself, along with his family." He added that telling young people to live short-term in converted scrapped buses — amid "the hell of youth unemployment, the hell of debt and the hell of skyrocketing real estate" — while failing to build a proper housing supply chain was "a clear insult to the younger generation."

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok wrote on social media that Hwang "promised upscale residential complexes and the lifting of land-transaction permit zones for his own constituency of Yangcheon-gap in Seoul, while telling young people to use scrapped buses as housing." He said, "What people want is not a home that moves, but a home they never have to leave."

Lee said President Lee Jae Myung had wrapped up a real estate meeting by telling officials to "think boldly and act, without clinging to old ways of thinking," and called the scrapped-bus idea "a fitting alternative that matches the president's predetermined directive." He went on to say that on the same day the Democratic Party had blamed Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for the city's housing supply cliff, calling it "an honest and bleak confession that the Democratic Party has no supply plan of its own."

Hwang calls it 'a pure idea'; Democratic Party distances itself

Hwang posted on social media Friday, citing the Netherlands' use of converted vessels to address housing shortages, and proposed "a program to remodel decommissioned buses into living spaces and offer them as short-term housing for young people near university campuses."

He argued that remodeling costs could be kept to around 50 million won ($35,200) per unit, meaning 10,000 units would total only about 500 billion won, and said consideration should be given to "making use of spaces near university campuses or subway stations to improve mobility and accessibility."

After the proposal drew controversy, Hwang deleted the original post and published a clarification, saying the bus house concept he had shared on Facebook was "purely at the level of an idea." He said his intention was to provide a temporary space for young people currently living in poor conditions such as gosiwon, or study-room rentals, "until they can secure proper housing."

He added that the bus house was "simply meant to enrich the discussion of ideas" and that it "does not mean the government is pursuing such a policy."

The Democratic Party also distanced itself, issuing a statement saying Hwang's Facebook post about bus houses and other short-term housing spaces "is entirely the lawmaker's personal opinion and has no relation whatsoever to the party's position."


arin@heraldcorp.com