President Lee: Strengthening Productive Finance Is Inevitable...Real Estate Speculation Can Be Completely Eradicated

According to The Financial News, President Lee Jae Myung wrote on his social media account on the 12th, "Strengthening productive finance is an inevitable path," adding, "If you make money by speculating on real estate with other people's money, those who work hard lose their motivation."
On X (formerly Twitter) that day, President Lee shared a news report that the financial authorities are reviewing tough lending regulations, including a ban on new jeonse loan guarantees for non-resident single-home owners and restrictions on extending the maturity of existing loans, and made these remarks.
He went on to say, "It is entirely possible, and indeed necessary, to achieve zero real estate speculation through the normalization of tax policy, finance, and regulations."
President Lee shared a report stating that the financial authorities are considering strong lending curbs, including banning new jeonse loan guarantees for non-resident single-home owners and limiting extensions of existing loan maturities.
According to the financial sector, the authorities are looking at ways to expand regulations beyond multi-home owners to also cover gap-investment-type loans taken out by non-resident single-home owners. The shared report noted that, as of last year, the guaranteed amount of jeonse loans for borrowers owning at least one home at Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC), Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) and Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) totaled 13.9395 trillion won, accounting for 12.7% of all guaranteed jeonse loans.
Non-resident single-home owners in particular have been criticized because they can live in a jeonse rental rather than in the home they own while still using jeonse loans, effectively turning this into a channel for gap investment. In response, the financial authorities are reportedly considering measures that would either completely block new jeonse loan guarantees for single-home owners or, as a rule, restrict the extension of existing loan maturities.
However, the government is also reviewing ways to separately recognize exceptions for genuine housing needs, such as children's education, caring for elderly parents, or job relocation. Alongside regulations on non-resident single-home owners, it is said to be considering additional financial measures to curb demand for gap investment.

west@fnnews.com Seong Seok-woo Reporter