Seoul: The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday criticized the government's recently announced housing plan, denouncing it as a reiteration of previous strategies that fail to alleviate the housing crisis or ease the burdens on citizens.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the government's comprehensive package, unveiled just a day earlier, aims to expand housing supply and stabilize both the rental and sales markets, focusing on Seoul and other high-demand areas in the capital region. However, PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig expressed skepticism during a floor meeting, stating, "If the government continues to recycle previously announced measures and trick people by inflating the numbers, even good policies are bound to lose the trust of the market and the public."
Jeong further criticized the government's claim of supplying over 1.5 million housing units, pointing out that 1.35 million of these are part of a Korea Land and Housing Corporation-led public housing supply plan announced last year. He also highlighted that the government intends to secure around 240,000 additional homes, including 100,000 units at newly designated public housing sites, yet has revealed the locations for only 27,000 units, leaving the rest undecided and the plan lacking in concrete details.
The latest package builds on the Lee Jae Myung administration's earlier housing supply plan, which calls for constructing 1.35 million homes in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province by 2030. It also proposes accelerating the development of newly designated housing sites by reducing the time from site announcement to construction start from 68 months to 37 months through a fast-track development model.
PPP chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yun expressed disappointment in a commentary issued Thursday, arguing that the Lee administration's housing supply plan has left people deeply disappointed and frustrated. Choi specifically criticized the limited housing supply planned for Seoul, noting that only 1,000 units are planned in the capital despite strong demand. Of the additional supply announced Thursday, about 100,000 homes will come from newly designated public housing sites, including 1,000 homes in the Gangseo district in Seoul.