"Are You Also From a Humanities Background?" vs. "It's Mayor Oh's Fault"... Ruling and Opposition Spar Over Housing Supply

Confirmation Hearing for Land Minister Nominee on September 16

Opposition: "President's Approval Falls to 30% Due to Failed Real Estate Policy"

Democratic Party Blames Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon for Housing Crisis

The ruling and opposition parties clashed over the real estate policies of the Lee Jaemyung administration at the confirmation hearing for Hong Jiseon, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, held on September 16.

Kim Eunhye, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, questioned, "Do you think the current administration's real estate policies are successful?" and pressed further, "Are you a liberal arts major? This is not a matter of whether you studied liberal arts or science."

Previously, Kim Seungwon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, responded at his own confirmation hearing the day before to suspicions about manipulated animal testing at Genencell, which had allegedly lobbied for approval of a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial, by saying, "I am a liberal arts major. I have no knowledge about the performance or effectiveness of the treatment."

Kim Mi-ae, another lawmaker from the same party, also pointed out, "One of the main reasons for the President’s approval rating dropping into the 30 percent range is failure in real estate policy." She continued, "The public is demanding a reversal of the current administration’s real estate policy direction," and criticized, "The government insists on a regulatory-only approach to everything. Your inability to address this adequately shows a lack of preparation for this hearing."

Hong Jiseon, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is answering questions from lawmakers at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dongju

The Democratic Party of Korea countered by arguing that opposition-affiliated local government heads also share responsibility for the housing supply drought. Kim Namgeun, a Democratic Party lawmaker, stated, "Some failures in housing supply were due to administrative issues within the Seoul Metropolitan Government, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was somewhat lax in properly pointing out and correcting those issues to secure negotiations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government." He emphasized, "If there are illegal or unjust actions, audits should be conducted."

He went on to say, "The current housing shortage was predictable when Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon drastically reduced housing supply from 2022 to 2024." He pointed out, "In places like Seoul, where there is little developable land and supply projects are extremely difficult, various measures are necessary. However, Mayor Oh has focused solely on his political brands, such as reconstruction, redevelopment, and the expedited integrated development program, resulting in a decrease in other housing supply."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.