President Lee Lists Bundang Apartment for 2.9 Billion Won: "Determined to Normalize Real Estate Market"

[The Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung, who has vowed to dismantle what he calls a "ruinous real estate republic," put his own apartment in Bundang up for sale on the 27th. Observers say he is once again underscoring his strong determination to normalize the housing market by personally taking the lead as the country’s top policy decision-maker.
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong of Cheong Wa Dae said at a briefing that day, "The president owned a single home for residential purposes, but he decided to list it to personally show the public his determination to normalize the real estate market."
She added, "The apartment has been put on the market at a price lower than both last year’s actual transaction price and the current market value."
The apartment owned by Lee is reportedly listed at 2.9 billion won, about 10% below the current market price.
Earlier, Lee had hinted via social networking service (SNS) posts that he planned to return to the Bundang apartment after leaving office. However, an official at Cheong Wa Dae explained, "It was originally intended to be his private residence after retirement, but he decided to put it on the market to personally demonstrate his will to normalize the real estate market."
The official went on, "The apartment has been listed at a price significantly lower than last year’s actual transaction or the current market level. As he has often said, he seems to believe that holding on to a home is a losing proposition, which is why he decided to sell." The official added, "It appears he thinks it is economically far more advantageous to sell now and put the proceeds into investments such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) or other financial products." A tenant is currently living in the apartment, according to reports.
The official also noted, "It has been quite some time since the president started talking this way," and added, "Once the real estate market normalizes, it would be more beneficial to buy a home again after his term ends. He seems to think that selling now, near the peak, and buying later at a lower price would be to his advantage."
In 1998, Lee purchased a 164-square-meter (about 60-pyeong) apartment in the Yangji Maeul Kumho 1st Complex in Bundang for 360 million won, in joint ownership with his wife Kim Hye-kyung, and has held it for 29 years. The complex has been designated as one of the Phase-1 New Town Redevelopment Pilot Districts, and its current market price is estimated at between 2.8 and 3.2 billion won.
Recently, Lee has used SNS to send repeated messages targeting speculative multi-home owners and calling for market stabilization. Analysts say his decision to list the Bundang apartment reflects a judgment that, to build public trust in his aggressive anti-speculation policies, he must personally lead by example as the top policy authority.
The previous evening, Lee had declared in a post on X (formerly Twitter), "We will create a situation in which not only multi-home owners but also single-home owners who hold property purely for investment or speculation will find it more advantageous to sell than to keep it." He continued, "For a government to function properly, its authority must be maintained, and a government that loses its authority becomes not just a lame duck but a vegetable. Government authority comes from trust and consistency, and we cannot allow a situation where those who stubbornly hold multiple homes are rewarded."
The move also aligns with Lee’s broader plan to redirect funds that are abnormally concentrated in real estate into the capital markets, at a time when the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has surpassed the 6,000 mark for the first time in history and the capital market is showing signs of normalization.
On the 25th, Lee wrote on X that, following the Third Amendment Bill to the Commercial Act centered on mandatory cancellation of treasury shares, "there is a mountain of work ahead, including an Anti-Stock Price Suppression Act," reiterating his resolve to accelerate the normalization of the capital market.
That same day, in a meeting with the Senior Advisory Group of the Democratic Party of Korea, he said, "What I consider most important right now is resolving livelihood and economic issues," adding, "We will definitely resolve the chronic problem of wealth being concentrated in real estate, which fuels social polarization and worsens the suffering of ordinary people." He also stressed, "The recent signs that money tied up in real estate is beginning to flow into productive capital markets are both very natural and highly encouraging."
In other words, he is focusing on the emerging trend of funds moving out of real estate and into the stock market and other forms of productive finance.
At the senior secretaries’ meeting he chaired at Cheong Wa Dae on the 26th, Lee said, "Korea must move from a Korea discount to a Korea Premium, where our country is valued more highly than any other." He added, "Just as the normalization of the capital market, once thought impossible, is becoming a reality, dismantling the ruinous real estate republic is by no means an insurmountable barrier."
Lee assessed that as opaque and irrational elements are gradually being corrected, the capital market is moving away from its previously distorted state. He expressed optimism, saying, "If additional institutional reforms, such as an Anti-Stock Price Suppression Act, are put in place, this trend toward normalization is likely to gain even more momentum."
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun, Seong Seok-woo Reporter