[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung reiterated on the 18th that he would stabilize the real estate market to prevent the "lost 30 years" that South Korea would inevitably face someday if current conditions continue. Pointing to declining housing supply and increased liquidity as short-term causes of recent housing price instability, he said, "After the Yoon Suk Yeol government took office in 2022, the number of permits and groundbreaking projects was cut in half from the year Oh Se-hoon was elected mayor." At his seventh press conference since taking office, held at the Yeongbingwan State Guest House at Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee said, "We will firmly and swiftly implement supply, regulatory and tax policies. We will also communicate fully with stakeholders to minimize confusion and opposition while ensuring housing price stability." President Lee said, "We will unwaveringly pursue balanced national development by overcoming the Seoul metropolitan area’s one-pole system, which is the fundamental obstacle to stabilizing housing prices in the region, and diversifying the hubs of growth and development. We will complete the administrative capital project, which has been pursued for many years to ease overcrowding in the Seoul metropolitan area and achieve balanced national development, as quickly as possible. Like New York and Washington, D.C., we will usher in an era of two capitals: Seoul as the economic capital and Sejong City as the administrative capital." President Lee pointed out, "The most fundamental issue is concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area. People all flock to Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon. All economic power, infrastructure and living conditions are concentrated in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon." He continued, "Another reason is the myth that real estate never loses value." He criticized the situation, saying, "From a short-term perspective, the number of permits and groundbreaking projects was cut in half from 2022, after the Yoon Suk Yeol government took office and Oh Se-hoon was elected mayor of Seoul." He also said, "Some people use the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as an excuse, but the number of permits and groundbreaking projects fell to nearly half in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, sharply reducing supply. That is the short-term cause." He added, "In this situation, restrictions on land transaction permits were lifted, causing housing prices in certain areas to soar." He cited concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and the perception of real estate as a major means of building wealth as structural causes. He identified declining housing supply, the lifting of land transaction permit restrictions and increased market liquidity as short-term factors that have recently intensified housing price instability. President Lee assessed, "The fact that enormous liquidity is being generated as South Korea's economy makes a turn could also be one of the causes." Regarding recent conditions in the real estate market, President Lee said, "Fortunately, declines have recently continued to spread to areas including Gangnam. Of course, prices are rising in outlying areas." He assessed, "Previously, the market was vertical. It seems that a kind of flattening process is underway." He continued, "Escaping from being a republic of real estate speculation is the central task of every administration in South Korea. It is difficult. We have tried, but it did not work." Nevertheless, he emphasized, "What I can say clearly is that this government will do it." As a solution, he proposed pursuing expanded housing supply alongside regulatory and tax policies, while dispersing housing demand concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area by relocating public and state agencies to regional areas and Sejong City. The government also plans to expand financial support for projects that increase housing supply. President Lee said, "We will increase supply as quickly as possible through land development, including building permits, reconstruction, redevelopment and urban renewal projects." He added, "The Prime Minister's Office checks progress every day, and I receive reports every week, identifying each specific location and checking its progress." He also said, "We will release the data soon, but the number of building permits is increasing significantly. We are also expanding financing for the supply sector." He added, "Supply will increase. The swift relocation of public enterprises to regional areas and state agencies to Sejong City will create some breathing room. And interest-rate conditions ahead will not be easy." However, he added, "I would also like to say that we have prepared and are implementing detailed policies to address the difficulties faced by jeonse and monthly-rental tenants during this interim period." In response to a question asking whether he believed "jeonse is a system that should disappear," he replied, "I said it 'will disappear.' When did I ever say it 'should disappear'? Then the question loses its meaning, doesn't it? I will use that as my answer." [email protected] Choi Jong-geun and Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter