Lee attacks Jang Dong-hyuk over six homes; Jang says, “The president is making me an unfilial son”

[Financial News] On the 16th, President Lee Jae-myung shared an article reporting that People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk owns six homes and challenged him, asking, “Does the People Power Party believe multiple-home owners should not be regulated?” Jang replied that his elderly mother, who lives alone in a rural house registered in his name, has become worried because of the president’s criticism.
Lee and the Democratic Party of Korea have recently been calling for tighter regulations on multiple-home owners and urging them to sell. When the People Power Party criticized this, Lee hit back by highlighting that Jang himself is a multiple-home owner with six properties. However, Jang’s real estate holdings are known to consist of low-priced homes used by himself and his family as primary residences or inherited properties, with a combined value in the 800 million won range. This is why he brought up his mother.
That day, Lee used social media (SNS) to share an article whose headline emphasized that Jang owns six homes. “There was something I wanted to quietly ask Jang if he had accepted my invitation to the presidential office luncheon on the 12th,” Lee wrote. “Does the People Power Party believe multiple-home owners should not be regulated, that they should be protected, and that their existing privileges in finance and taxation should be maintained?” he asked.
Lee continued, “In a country like Korea, with limited land and heavy concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, there are many factors that fuel real estate speculation. Does the People Power Party really think it is desirable for a small number of people to own multiple homes for investment or speculative purposes?” He stressed, “Given the clearly negative effects, not only must the unjust privileges granted to multiple-home owners in areas such as taxation, finance and regulation be taken back as a matter of national policy, but it is also fair and common sense to impose a certain level of responsibility and burden for the social problems created by multiple-home ownership.”
Jang responded the same day on social media, writing, “Because of the holidays, I came down to the rural house where my 95-year-old mother lives. After seeing what the president posted on social media, she said, ‘If getting rid of this house means I have to die quickly, well...’ and she is deeply worried.” He added, “She is very angry, saying, ‘We sent you to study in Seoul so you could become a lawmaker there. Why did you come back to your hometown only to be attacked by the president?’” Jang went on, “I also hope that my mother-in-law, who lives alone, does not see the president’s post.”
Jang had already explained his six properties in October last year. They are: a farmhouse in his hometown of Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, inherited from his late father, where his mother lives alone; a one-fifth share of an apartment in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, inherited from his late father-in-law, where his mother-in-law lives; a one-tenth inherited share of an apartment in Gyeonggi Province that his father-in-law bought while alive to cover living expenses; an apartment in Guro District in Seoul where he lived before becoming a lawmaker; and an apartment in Boryeong and an officetel in Yeouido used for his parliamentary work in his constituency of Boryeong and Seocheon County in South Chungcheong Province and at the National Assembly. The total value of these homes is reported to be in the 800 million won range.
By contrast, Lee owns only one apartment, in Yangji Village in Bundang, Seongnam, but its current value exceeds 2.8 billion won. Moreover, a redevelopment plan was approved last month, and many expect the price to at least double once construction is completed in 2035. Lee has previously criticized not only multiple-home owners but also those who own high-priced, non-residential investment properties known as a “single smart home,” which has fueled controversy.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party also pushed back against Lee’s logic of pressuring multiple-home owners. In a commentary issued that day, chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon warned, “In a situation where supply is insufficient, cracking down on multiple-home owners could actually worsen the housing cost burden for ordinary people by driving up rents and jeonse prices.” He added, “In a market where even when properties come up for sale, loans are blocked, the only first-time buyers are those with plenty of cash. Why is the president trying to create a structure that only benefits people with money?”
Park went on, “There are many people who inevitably do not live in their homes because of work or school. The president is not supposed to be someone who stigmatizes and divides the people,” adding, “As a non-resident single-home owner himself, Lee should clearly answer whether he really plans to return to his Bundang apartment after leaving office.” He was pointing out that by the time Lee steps down, redevelopment work will make it impossible to move back in.
Yoon Hee-sook, a former lawmaker and now a potential People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, also weighed in on social media, saying, “At a time when the number of multiple-home owners has been steadily declining since the previous administration, Lee’s sudden targeting of them is nothing more than electioneering.” She argued, “The factors destabilizing the market are the supply crunch caused when former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon scrapped plans for 400,000 new homes, and the ‘single smart home’ phenomenon created by the Moon Jae-in administration’s heavy taxes on multiple-home owners, which concentrated capital in Seoul’s prime areas.” She added, “As under the Moon administration, regulatory pressure will spill over into the rental market, and it is worrying that multiple-home owners will pull out of the rental sector.”

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter