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

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Hee, who had proposed converting old buses into temporary housing for young people, issued a formal apology Monday, saying he was "sincerely sorry to the younger generation and the public." In a Facebook post, Hwang wrote that the proposal had caused "great concern and disappointment" in ways he had not intended, and bowed his head in apology.

Hwang said the so-called "bus house" concept had been floated as an idea while he was exploring ways to quickly secure housing space. "The proposal was an idea born out of concern for bridging the gap in government-led housing supply and easing, even slightly in the short term, the severe temporary housing cost burden on low-income young people," he wrote.

He acknowledged, however, that "regardless of the reason, I failed to fully grasp the gravity of the housing problems young people face on the ground," adding that he felt a heavy sense of responsibility for having caused hurt and disappointment by not carefully considering the feelings of young people as those directly affected.

Hwang pledged to "listen more closely to the realistic voices of young people and devote all efforts to developing more substantive and well-developed housing innovation measures."

The controversy began Friday, when Hwang cited the Netherlands as a model, noting that the country supplies more than 10,000 units of "boat houses" — vessels remodeled from decommissioned or secondhand ships — and proposed a bus-based equivalent for South Korea. The People Power Party fired back, demanding Hwang immediately retract the remarks and apologize, saying he had tried to imitate Dutch boat houses only to turn young people into "refugees on the road." The party also called on Hwang and his family to "set an example by moving into bus house No. 1 themselves."

As the backlash mounted, Hwang revised his Facebook post to propose instead "multi-spot mixed residential development that adds density in small increments across multiple locations without damaging urban infrastructure," then deleted the post entirely. He had also scheduled a press briefing Monday afternoon to explain his position on the bus house controversy, but abruptly canceled it. Hwang had reportedly planned to present additional housing supply solutions — including mixed residential development and equity-accumulation housing — as well as measures to promote reconstruction and redevelopment through shared-space housing models.

Apologies also came from within the Democratic Party. Policy committee chairwoman Han Jeong-ae told reporters Sunday that she was "truly sorry and apologetic that young people ended up being unexpectedly hurt." Democratic Party Rep. Park Ji-won appeared on SBS Radio Monday and said, "Posting an inappropriate example and provoking young people and students — you just need to shut up and apologize. Why is this being called a minor incident? It was wrong."


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