President Lee pledges to end real estate speculation in South Korea

President Lee Jae-myung has reaffirmed the government's commitment to ending real estate speculation in South Korea. Addressing the causes of housing market instability, the President identified a sharp decline in building permits in Seoul between 2022 and 2025 as a primary short-term driver of price volatility, while citing excessive household debt and regional concentration in the capital area as long-term issues.

To stabilize the market, the administration plans to expand the supply of public long-term rental housing for youth and the middle class using excess tax revenue. Additionally, the President instructed the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to provide purchase guarantees for unsold housing units in certain areas. This mechanism is intended to reduce uncertainty for developers and encourage the commencement of new construction projects.

Other proposed measures include tax reforms to ensure fiscal justice, adjustments to household debt, and policies to promote balanced regional development, such as relocating public institutions and enterprises to provincial areas. While building permits and starts have shown signs of recovery, recent data indicates that completed housing supply has still seen a decline.