Gangnam Perspective: Social Media Politics and Finding Solutions for the Real Estate Market

Around the world, the politician most associated with social media politics is clearly President Donald Trump of the United States. Trump has used social media not only to announce major domestic and foreign policy decisions, but also to unleash extreme political statements.
On issues related to South Korea, such as allowing nuclear-powered submarines or pressuring for a 25% tariff hike, Trump also chose to reveal the news first through his personal social media accounts.
Trump’s social media politics can be a double-edged sword. His accounts were suspended when his supporters stormed the US Congress. He also faced backlash after posting on his own platform, Truth Social, a doctored video that mocked former President Barack Hussein Obama II and his wife as apes, which he later deleted. Social media is like a train without brakes, because there is virtually no restraint before something is posted. Trump’s turn to social media politics began with his deep distrust of legacy media. Even recently, he has been pursuing lawsuits worth astronomical sums against major news organizations.
In South Korea, President Lee Jae Myung is opening the first chapter of highly active social media politics. His direct communication with the public through social media is unprecedented. From January 1 through the Lunar New Year holidays, over roughly a month and a half, he posted about 100 times. That works out to more than two posts a day, and on some days he uploaded as many as eight. Some observers, noting the nationwide impact of his activity, have dubbed it a "social media storm."
The president mainly posts news articles on his social media accounts and then invites public judgment on them. More than half of his posts are comments on specific articles. Most of these are evaluative rather than complimentary.
He also openly expresses dissatisfaction with certain articles, regardless of topic. Stories on the economy, society, North Korea, diplomacy, and politics are all being linked on the president’s personal accounts. Some of his posts even go up in the early hours of the morning, when most citizens are asleep. He has remarked that he sometimes cannot sleep at night because he is so worried about state affairs.
Opinions are divided over the pros and cons of the president’s social media politics. Some welcome it, saying the presidential office feels more alive and accessible. Others worry that the president’s conduct appears too light. At the same time, many point out that in the age of the internet and YouTube, the era when a president had to project solemnity at all times is already over.
By type of post, real estate stands out as the single most frequent topic. Recently, the president has been posting heavily about housing and property issues, day and night, on his personal accounts. His effort to shape public opinion on real estate through social media appears aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Moon Jae-in administration’s failures. The housing policies pursued under Moon drew intense public criticism and accelerated his lame-duck phase. Even former President Moon Jae-in later cited the failure of his real estate policy as his biggest regret after leaving office.
However, the reasons for the Moon administration’s failure on real estate lay elsewhere. That period coincided with a sharp global surge in housing prices. As working from home became entrenched during the COVID-19 pandemic, home prices soared. Early in the pandemic, experts had predicted a price drop, but interest rate cuts and abundant liquidity instead drove prices up by 10–20% in most major advanced economies, including not only South Korea but also the United States.
People even joked at the time that not even the Creator could bring housing prices down. The Moon Jae-in administration’s failure stemmed largely from policymakers’ misreading of this powerful market trend. The current government must treat Moon’s painful experience as a lesson learned. To avoid repeating those mistakes, relying solely on social media politics will not be enough. What is needed is a creative real estate policy that reads the market accurately and hits the right targets with precision.
rainman@fnnews.com