President pledges swift action on housing supply, regulation and taxation; calls 1987 constitution outdated

President Lee Jae Myung enters the press conference hall at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbingwan on Friday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung enters the press conference hall at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbingwan on Friday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday took direct aim at soaring housing prices in the Greater Seoul area and widening asset inequality, vowing to stabilize the real estate market to prevent what he called a potential "lost 30 years." As a structural remedy, he announced plans to complete the administrative capital in Sejong as quickly as possible, ushering in a dual-capital era in which Seoul would serve as the economic capital and Sejong as the administrative one.

Lee made the remarks in his opening statement at his seventh official press conference since taking office, held Friday morning at the Yeongbingwan banquet hall of Cheong Wa Dae.

Lee identified the country's lopsided geographic development as a root cause of housing instability. "We will steadfastly pursue balanced national development — overcoming the single-hub dominance of the Greater Seoul area, which is the fundamental obstacle to stabilizing housing prices there, and diversifying the centers of growth across the country," he said. On specific policy tools, he added that the government would ensure "firm and swift execution of supply, regulation and taxation policies" while minimizing confusion and resistance through sufficient communication with stakeholders.

Lee formally designated the completion of Sejong's administrative capital as the centerpiece of his roadmap for decongesting the capital region and achieving balanced development. "We will complete, as swiftly as possible, the construction of the administrative capital that has long been pursued to ease overcrowding in the Greater Seoul area and promote balanced national development," he said. "Like New York and Washington, we will open a dual-capital era — Seoul as the economic capital and Sejong as the administrative capital." The underlying aim is to diversify the country's growth axis and redirect the excessive demand that has been funneling into Greater Seoul real estate.

Alongside this, Lee laid out a detailed vision for constitutional reform covering both the structure of power and fundamental rights. He described the current constitution as "a garment that no longer fits today's Republic of Korea," saying the 1987 charter was "born as a product of political compromise." He said he would work to ensure it could be revised through rational debate between the ruling and opposition parties and national consensus.

He identified three priorities for constitutional reform: historical legitimacy, the distribution of authority and accountable governance. "My position on constitutional reform has been consistent for a long time — incorporating the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democracy Movement and the Buma Democratic Uprising into the constitutional preamble, strengthening the fundamental rights of citizens, distributing some presidential powers to the National Assembly and local governments, and introducing a presidential re-election system to ensure policy consistency and governmental stability," Lee said. He shrugged off suggestions that he was seeking to shift toward a power-sharing arrangement, calling claims that he intended to introduce a cabinet or semi-presidential system "utterly groundless."

Lee said he had made countless pledges to the public across politics, the economy, society, culture, diplomacy and security. "I will carry out those many promises and tasks one by one, building greater trust and creating a better life for the people and an irreplaceable Republic of Korea," he said. He added that the government would pursue sustained recovery and growth while ensuring that "the opportunities and fruits of growth are shared by all," and pledged to build "a safe and peaceful country, and a hopeful and happy world — not just for the socially vulnerable, but for every citizen."


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