[2026 National Assembly Audit] Despite Land Minister's Forecast of "Housing Market Stabilization," Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree: "Urgent Need for Jeonse and Rent Measures" (Comprehensive)

Comprehensive Audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Rising home prices in Seoul and mounting pressure in the jeonse and monthly rental markets came under scrutiny at the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit on Oct. 23. The government cited a shortage of housing supply over the past three years as the cause of the housing crunch and forecast that home prices would stabilize or fall. Both the ruling and opposition parties, meanwhile, pointed to the growing burden of jeonse deposits and monthly rent and called for complementary financial and supply measures. Critics also said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had failed to take the lead on housing policy.

Hong Jiseon: "Higher interest rates at year-end will stabilize the market"; Lee Seonghun: "Prices will plunge when supply increases"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Jiseon answers lawmakers' questions during a comprehensive audit of the ministry and other agencies at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dongju

On the final day of the committee’s audit, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Jiseon responded to a question from Um Tae-young of the People Power Party about the outlook for home prices in Seoul, saying, "For now, the pace of increase is slowing." She added, "There are forecasts that mortgage rates and other rates will rise toward the end of the year, so I think the housing market may stabilize."

Hong said, "The current housing shortage was caused by insufficient supply over the past three years." In response to calls to review loan restrictions on actual homebuyers, she said, "Loan restrictions remain lifted, as before, for first-time homebuyers and low-income households." She also said the ministry was discussing ways to increase the supply of private-sector housing with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Asked by fellow party member Kang Dae-sik about measures to address rising apartment prices in the Seoul metropolitan area, Hong replied, "We are preparing countermeasures for various market changes, including sharp declines and surges." In response to concerns that regulations had reduced the supply of jeonse homes, she said, "Listings for jeonse and monthly rentals are also declining, and monthly rents are rising, even in areas outside regulated zones and land transaction permit zones."

Lee Seonghun, president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), forecast that home prices would fall if supply increased. Asked by Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party whether he was certain that prices would drop, Lee said, "There is no doubt that the current rise in sale prices and jeonse and monthly rents is due to a shortage of completed housing." He added, "Housing starts in the Seoul metropolitan area plunged to between half and one-third of their previous levels during the previous administration’s three years, which is like setting a time bomb with a three-year fuse."

After his allotted time for questions had ended, National Assembly committee chair Yoo Eui-dong of the People Power Party repeatedly told Lee to return to his seat. Lee remained at the podium and continued speaking, saying, among other things, "Once supply ramps up over the next three years under our government, prices will plunge immediately. If the market recognizes this first, prices will inevitably come down." He returned to his seat only after finishing his remarks. After supplementary questioning ended, Yoo called Lee back to the podium and reprimanded him, saying, "Your attitude is a problem as well as what you said. When the committee chair tells you to stop, shouldn't you stop?" Lee bowed his head and said, "I apologize."

Ruling and opposition parties jointly call for improvements to measures addressing jeonse and monthly rent

A residential complex in downtown Seoul with apartments and houses. Photo by Cho Yongjun

Calls to ease the burden of jeonse deposits and monthly rent came from both the ruling and opposition parties. Lawmakers repeatedly argued that tightening financial regulations, including those on jeonse loans, had led to the decline of the jeonse market and a surge in monthly rents. Shin Seong-beom of the People Power Party said, "More than half of jeonse and monthly rental transactions for apartments in Seoul are monthly rentals, and the average monthly rent exceeds 1.66 million won. That means 43% of workers' average monthly wages goes toward rent." His fellow party member Um Tae-young said, "If rising home prices are blamed on speculation, the disappearance of jeonse is blamed on the market, and rising monthly rents are blamed on landlords, then who in the government is ever held accountable for its policies, and when?" He called for a review of loan restrictions on actual homebuyers. Also from the same party, Kim Eun-hye cited the actual transaction prices of the apartment where Minister Hong lives, saying, "Jeonse prices have risen by about 300 million won over the past year, and monthly rent that used to be 1.8 million won is now 2.6 million won." She added, "Young people and ordinary citizens feel they are being mocked by policies that block both jeonse and housing loans."

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea also called for financial measures to help stabilize the jeonse and monthly rental markets. Kang Deuk-gu said, "Curbing home prices is important, but jeonse and monthly rent are livelihood issues and, quite literally, matters of survival." He urged the government to "give this issue serious and active consideration." Ahn Tae-jun said, "Young people's actual housing costs, including monthly rent, have risen far too much for several years, while growth in real incomes has failed to keep pace." He continued, "It has become extremely difficult even to get onto the housing ladder, moving from monthly rent to jeonse and then to homeownership." He said the government should "actively consider using unsold land in second-phase new towns and business and self-sufficiency sites in third-phase new towns to supply quasi-housing, such as residential officetels, to ease young people's housing costs." Jang Jong-tae said, "Apartment prices are reported weekly, encouraging people to buy in pursuit of rising prices, while non-apartment homes such as villas are surveyed only monthly. With market prices shrouded in uncertainty, they have become targets for jeonse fraud and gap investment."

Hong said, "Rental housing supply is declining because supply in the Seoul metropolitan area is failing to keep up with demand." She added, "We are maximizing the supply of purchased rental housing for jeonse and monthly rental use without setting a limit, and will also develop measures to promote small non-apartment housing and long-term private rentals, as well as support for young people's monthly rent and tax benefits."

Committee chair urges the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to take the lead

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Jiseon answers lawmakers' questions during a comprehensive audit of the ministry and other agencies at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Criticism of the ministry's passive response continued. After Minister Hong said that the budget for next year's public housing supply had been set at about 33 trillion won, including funding from the Housing and Urban Fund, committee chair Yoo asked how many public rental homes in Seoul could be supplied with that budget for jeonse and monthly rental use, how much of the cost LH would bear, and how many rental homes would be lost due to owner-occupancy requirements. When Hong replied, "I don't remember the specific figures," Yoo said, "The number of jeonse and monthly rental homes disappearing in Seoul because of the owner-occupancy requirement will be far greater and will happen much faster than the supply of public rental housing, yet you don't even have statistics on this."

Yoo said, "From the public's perspective, the real estate control tower seems to be the financial or tax authorities, while the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport just runs errands." He added, "Why can't you take the lead and say how much housing you will supply and what needs to be done with lending capacity and taxes?"

He continued, "The budget and target number of homes don't line up, and the plan to split up LH, which has more than 200 trillion won in debt, was announced before there was any plan for allocating assets, liabilities, or personnel." He added, "Employees are anxious, and private companies preparing projects are confused, so it feels like nothing is ready." Asked by Yoo whether the plans for allocating assets, liabilities, and personnel following LH's separation into multiple entities had been finalized, Hong said, "The process has not yet been fully completed."

Hong also drew criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for giving general answers rather than specific measures on other issues. Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party called for support measures, such as conditional guarantees, for viable private real estate project financing (PF) sites where guarantees and loans had been blocked due to bridge-loan delinquencies. When Hong explained the limitations of current guarantee rules, Yoo said, "I know it can't be done under the current rules. Isn't it your job to fix that?" Hong replied, "Conditions differ from site to site," and said, "We will work with the Financial Services Commission to consider solutions tailored to each project site."

Chung Il-young of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed to a shortage of parts and repair facilities for Tesla and Chinese BYD vehicles and asked whether Hong had heard the term "repair refugees." Hong responded that she had come across the term in the media and online. Chung said the ministry should address the problems with parts and service centers, adding, "You don't seem very committed to this." Hong replied, "That's not the case. I agree with the points you raised."

During questioning of general witnesses that day, a dispute also broke out between witnesses and reference witnesses over remedies for consumer 피해. Hwang Un-ha of the Rebuilding Korea Party questioned why KCC Mobility, which handles after-sales service (AS) in Korea for Nissan, which has withdrawn from the country, had threatened to file criminal complaints against Leaf owners who protested. Their electric vehicles had a defect that caused them to stop on highways after the battery level suddenly fell from 95% to 0%. Hwang said, "The group's chairman was excused from appearing as a witness on the condition that he would resolve the issue, yet the company has shown up without a solution and keeps repeating, 'We will coordinate with Nissan headquarters and take whatever measures we can.'" Owners of the affected vehicles, who appeared as reference witnesses, asked Sim Hyeon-bo, CEO of KCC Mobility, "If your child were riding in this car, would you let them drive it when it could stop on the highway?" Even after their allotted time for questions ended, they remained at the podium and demanded a commitment to buy back the vehicles, causing a prolonged commotion.

In the aviation sector, lawmakers raised concerns about the disclosure of Korean Air's frequent-flyer mileage information. Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party of Korea said he had requested information on 22 items across four areas, including mileage expiration and the operation of award tickets, but had not received sufficient answers. Choi Jeong-ho, a Korean Air senior vice president, explained, "We disclose the information as deferred revenue, while all airlines classify the details as sensitive information." Hong said, "We will review cases in which the United States has investigated airline mileage programs and discuss options for applying them in Korea with the Fair Trade Commission."

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