President Lee Jae Myung presides over the Ulchi National Security Council meeting at the National Crisis Management Center in Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Cheong Wa Dae]
President Lee Jae Myung presides over the Ulchi National Security Council meeting at the National Crisis Management Center in Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Cheong Wa Dae]

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday directed Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to meet with construction companies, hear their concerns and work out solutions after receiving a briefing from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on follow-up measures for its rapid housing supply plan.

Cheong Wa Dae chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung relayed the president's remarks at an afternoon briefing on the Ulchi 1 exercise and Cabinet meeting. She said Lee told officials they must "have the flexibility to accept legitimate criticism of policy, but must not be swayed by attempts to undermine it."

Lee also questioned Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in detail about whether permitting authority for large-scale redevelopment and reconstruction projects — as well as smaller individual construction — rests with district offices or the city government, and asked whether deregulation measures were available to increase private housing supply.

When Oh raised easing floor-area ratio restrictions, relaxing limits on the transfer of union membership status and lowering the mandatory ratio of rental housing, Lee said the goal was "to increase supply — not to raise the likelihood of home prices skyrocketing." He added that such measures carry both positive and negative dimensions.

Lee then said "there may be a middle ground that maximizes the positives and minimizes the negatives," and instructed Prime Minister Han to review a range of views and find ways to boost housing supply.

Meanwhile, regarding Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho's offer to resign, Kang said Jeong "has faithfully carried out his duties in response to public demand" and that he submitted a resignation request citing health reasons. She added that Lee "asked him to continue fulfilling his responsibilities until follow-up personnel measures are taken."

Asked about US President Donald Trump's remarks on scaling back joint South Korea-US military exercises, Kang said the two countries "have closely coordinated on maintaining a firm combined defense posture and on joint exercises and training," and that they "will continue to maintain close coordination on specific details going forward, including if a concrete proposal comes from the US side."


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