"Prices Rose Every Time a Measure Was Announced"... Oh Se-hoon Targets Lee Jae Myung Administration's Real Estate Policy with Data

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon sharply criticized the Lee Jae Myung administration's real estate policy, saying that during its first year in office, prices for home sales, jeonse deposits, and monthly rent all rose, creating a "triple surge." He argued that measures focused only on regulation and lending restrictions instead stimulated the market and pushed up housing costs.
On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government released a video through its official website and the social broadcasting platform Live Seoul titled "One-Shot Market Oh Se-hoon - The Story I Could Not Finish at the State Council: The Lee Jae Myung Administration's Real Estate Hell, an Analysis Report on the Causes."
In the video, Oh pointed out that apartment sale prices in Seoul had risen by more than 13% over the past year, while jeonse deposits and monthly rent had also increased by around 6% and 7%, respectively.
He noted that jeonse posted its highest growth rate in 11 years, while monthly rent recorded the largest increase since related statistics began.
As the cause of these price increases, Oh said the government's six real estate measures announced over the past year focused only on suppressing demand, including tighter mortgage restrictions, expanded regulated zones, and heavier capital gains taxes on multi-home owners. He was also reported to have said that the overall approach was similar to the measures taken under the Moon Jae-in administration.
He especially criticized the June 27 measure, which capped mortgage loans at 600 million won in an effort to rein in Gangnam housing prices. According to Oh, demand did not disappear after the lending rules were tightened; it simply shifted to apartments priced below 1.5 billion won.
"The measure introduced to curb Gangnam housing prices ended up pushing up prices in non-Gangnam areas, the Han River Belt, and even Seoul's outer districts," Oh said. "It only slowed briefly right after the announcement, but the overall price trend kept moving upward."
Regarding the tax burden, Oh projected that the number of Seoul residents subject to the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax for owning one home would rise from 120,000 last year to 160,000 this year. He implied that a tax meant to curb speculation was instead becoming a burden on middle-class one-home owners.
"Based on this analysis, Seoul has proposed 18 measures to the government seven times over the past year," Oh said, adding that the city plans to release additional follow-up videos outlining a shift in policy direction and Seoul's own countermeasures.
Meanwhile, the release of the video is being interpreted as a response to tensions from the State Council meeting held the previous day, on the 14th. At the meeting chaired by President Lee, Oh requested a chance to speak at the end of the discussion, but Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said she would accept his remarks in writing, citing a planned national public forum.
Oh then said he had delivered the prepared report to Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Yong-beom, Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, and Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea. "It seems I won't be given a chance to speak today, so I'll substitute that with the contents of this report," he said. Han replied, "I will take it into careful consideration."

[email protected] Sung Min-seo Reporter