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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Jan. 3, 2022. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol receives a joint policy briefing from the ministry of land and the ministry of environment at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Jan. 3, 2023. (Yonhap) |
Yoon-real estate
Yoon calls for quickly easing real estate regulations
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol called Tuesday for quickly easing demand-side regulations in the real estate market to prevent housing prices from crashing.
Yoon made the remark while presiding over a joint New Year's policy briefing by the ministry of land and the ministry of environment, suggesting housing prices soared under the previous administration because of its "ideological" approach to real estate issues.
"The government should only do some management so that housing prices can rise and fall in a predictable manner," he said during the meeting held at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae.
"If the government approaches this from an ideological perspective," he continued, "the markets will become distorted, and if that happens, both the demand side and the supply side will be held back by regulations and houses will not be properly supplied to the market while prices soar, followed by an increase in rent, thereby putting the people in a very tough spot."
Yoon said his administration has sought to tackle the problems in the real estate market by respecting market principles and drastically easing regulations, but paced itself to give people time to plan.
"But with the recent hike in interest rates, there is a high risk of a hard landing, not a soft landing, so we must especially ease demand-side regulations in a bold and speedy manner," he said.
Yoon also cited the plight of citizens affected by rent fraud, saying the government should take every measure to help victims recover from the damage, provide legal support and firmly punish the perpetrators.
Speaking to environmental issues, the president said environmental deregulation should lead to industrialization and commercialization through the use of advanced technologies.
He also reminded the environment ministry to complete the task of shifting the country's water systems to an AI-based system to better respond to heavy rains, and to work with the industry ministry to quickly restore the country's nuclear energy infrastructure.
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