President Lee: "Housing Supply Disrupted Since 2022 to Return to Normal Soon"

"Three-Year Gap in Permits in Seoul and the Metropolitan Area"
"Permits and Construction Starts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Now Recovering in Earnest"
Directly Responds to Concerns That Loan Restrictions Could Harm Ordinary Pe

President Lee Jaemyung said on Oct. 11 that he had instructed the government to allow people who had already signed loan agreements and purchased homes off-plan to borrow under the terms originally agreed, responding to concerns that the government’s real estate lending restrictions could harm existing buyers. He made clear that he would take further action if the measure was not being properly implemented on the ground. He also said the recent housing supply shortage in the Seoul metropolitan area was due to a gap in permits issued over the past three years and forecast that supply would soon return to normal.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at the public briefing on the Korea Green Transformation (K-GX) strategy, held at a venue in Seoul on Oct. 7, 2026. Yonhap News.

President Lee gave the response on X, formerly Twitter, that day to a user who said real estate lending restrictions could make it harder for ordinary people to buy homes. “Please let me know whether you are saying this because you are unaware of the change, or whether there are still cases where it has not been corrected,” he said, adding, “If it is the latter, I will take steps to ensure that loans are available.”

Earlier, a user had commented on President Lee’s post: “The Lee Jae-myung administration’s real estate policies should not lead to restrictions on loans for people without much money who bought homes off-plan because they trusted the Republic of Korea.”

President Lee also offered a direct explanation for the housing supply shortage in the Seoul metropolitan area. “The number of housing construction permits and starts, which fell sharply for incomprehensible reasons after the 2022 presidential and local elections, is now beginning to recover in earnest,” he said. He added, “The gap in permits issued in Seoul and the metropolitan area over the past three years has caused some disruption to housing supply, but supply will return to normal soon.”

By attributing the recent housing supply shortage to the decline in permits and construction starts since 2022, President Lee emphasized that supply conditions have improved under the current administration. Housing permits and construction starts are leading indicators of actual move-in volumes, meaning a decline in past construction activity can lead to a current supply shortage after a time lag.

President Lee also stressed that assessments of the real estate market should take into account not only home prices and lending restrictions, but also financial conditions and supply indicators. “As I have repeatedly said, I hope you will also pay attention to interest rates, the number of property auctions, delinquency rates on mortgage loans, the normalization of the temporary gap in permits, the pace and volume of housing and land supply, and tax normalization to ensure fairness,” he said.

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