President says escaping 'speculative republic' more important than political survival; pledges mass public purchases if prices crash

Urges those feeling 'panic-buying' pressure to check transaction data before acting

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that the myth of real estate as an infallible investment must be broken, and that his administration would keep pushing aggressive housing supply to make it happen.

"For the sake of the people and the country, the time has come to shatter the real estate invincibility myth — and shatter it we must," Lee wrote on X on Tuesday. "Our government will keep up its 'just shut up and supply' approach." He added that contingency plans are already in place, including large-scale government purchases of housing for public rental use should prices fall sharply.

Lee said financial market risks from any price swings would remain limited because his administration had curbed household lending growth and tightened mortgage management. He attributed the recent rise in Seoul housing prices largely to a sharp drop in local government housing permits that began in 2022, and said the supply crunch should ease around 2028 as permitting has returned to normal under his administration.

He went on to say that accurately forecasting housing prices requires close attention to objective data — including transaction volumes, changes in available listings, price trends in leading areas, the direction of housing supply, interest rates and the broader economy, overseas real estate trends, mortgage delinquency rates, and the volume and auction-clearance rates of properties going to foreclosure.

Lee urged those in the Greater Seoul area feeling pressure to panic-buy to closely monitor apartment transaction volumes, listing trends, actual transaction prices in key neighborhoods, mortgage delinquency rates and foreclosure case counts. "Some argue the government cannot withstand falling home prices, but escaping the ruinous speculative real estate republic matters more than the fate of any administration," he said.


sunpine@heraldcorp.com