SEOUL-- Jeju Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong, an opposition presidential contender, on Thursday promised that newly-wed couples purchasing their first house will get half of the cost covered by an investment from the government, if he is elected president.

"I will fulfill 'fifty-fifty' houses, so those who don't have chances (of help) from parents and families can buy a home without stretching their finances too much," Won said in a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul.

Under the scheme, which marks the first campaign pledge since his official announcement on Sunday that he will run for president, the government will fund half of the purchase of the first home by newlyweds for joint ownership of the house, with the rest to be financed by the buyers.

Won's pledge came as the Moon Jae-in government struggles to rein in runaway housing prices, pointed to as one of the main factors by voters who disapprove of the Moon administration, in its final year.

"(The fifty-fifty houses) can be bought and sold anytime and anywhere ... and will be further expanded to benefit the rest of the public who do not own a house," Won said.

The government will be able to provide 22 trillion won (US$19.2 billion) for the program, to be leveraged from 7 trillion won seed money, he said.

"A state should give hope, not despair. It should give chances to people who are in despair and deprived of chances to enlist support from rich parents," he added.

Source: Yonhap News Agency