Kim Yong-beom: "This is different from the Moon era… housing supply will continue"

"In 2020, political momentum was exhausted, weakening policy drive"

Kim Yong-beom, senior presidential secretary for policy at Cheong Wa Dae, said on the 14th that “the situation is different from 2020” in response to some concerns over the Jan. 29 housing supply measures, stressing that they differ in nature from the supply policies under the Moon Jae-in administration.

In a Facebook post that day, Kim wrote, “Back then (in 2020), political momentum was quickly depleted right after the (supply policy) announcement, and implementation drive often weakened. This time, rather than denying supply itself, the focus is on calls to adjust the timing and approach.”

Kim assessed that “immediately after the announcement of a 60,000-home supply, market reaction was more favorable than expected,” adding that “a social consensus around the signal of ‘supply’ itself had already formed.”

He continued, “Of course, there are also wary views—voices questioning feasibility on the grounds that sites that had stalled after past announcements are being included again, and that some local governments are pushing back.” He emphasized, “From the standpoint of someone who has closely coordinated the process of putting together the 60,000-home supply package, the figure ‘60,000’ was by no means produced overnight. It was the result of an endless process of persuasion and adjustment.”

Kim acknowledged, “In our society, housing is not merely a place to live. It accounts for a substantial portion of household assets, serves as a safety net for old age, and is directly tied to children’s educational environment. In a situation where trust in the social security system is not sufficient, housing effectively functions as insurance,” adding, “That is why people are sensitive to concerns that expanding supply could affect asset values. Those concerns are real. They cannot be ignored in the policy design process.”

However, he said, “The costs incurred by delaying supply are also real,” adding that they “quietly accumulate in the form of instability in the jeonse rental market, reduced residential mobility among young people, and delays in marriage and childbirth.”

He went on, “If supply fails to follow where demand is concentrated, pressure shifts elsewhere—showing up in prices, in moves to the urban outskirts, and sometimes in giving up on the future,” adding, “This 60,000-home supply plan began from the judgment that we can no longer leave that trend unattended.”

Kim said, “Housing supply—including in preferred downtown areas—will continue going forward,” adding, “The direction of policy has already been set. Now is the time to confirm that direction through execution.”

Choi Su-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naive@hankyung.com