The People Power Party (PPP) criticized that the "seller financing (seller mortgage)" method used in President Lee Jae-myung's sale of his Bundang apartment is spreading to the high-priced apartment market in the greater Seoul area, saying "the president's transaction is becoming a new real estate trading norm."
PPP spokesperson Cho Yong-sul issued a commentary on the 25th, stating, "The 1.77 billion won seller mortgage method used in President Lee Jae-myung's sale of his Bundang apartment is rapidly spreading beyond Gangnam and Seocho to the high-priced apartment markets of the greater Seoul area, including Gwanggyo."
Cho said, "The Lee Jae-myung administration has been tightening the market with lending regulations that effectively say 'only those with cash should buy homes,' yet the president himself conducted a roundabout transaction through seller financing." He argued, "Rather than normalizing the market, the regulations have created bypasses and expedient methods that only a few can use."
He continued, "The more serious problem is that, prompted by the president's transaction, this method is being accepted in the market as if it has received 'official certification.'" He said, "On the ground, cases of recommending seller loans on the grounds that 'there is no legal problem' will increase even further."
PPP spokesperson Ham In-kyung also stated through a commentary, "It is questionable how a transaction lending a large sum without receiving interest was possible." She pointed out, "When an interest-free loan is made in a real estate transaction worth tens of billions of won even between parents and children, it is difficult to avoid scrutiny by tax authorities over whether it constitutes an expedient gift or tax evasion."
She continued, "One person's transaction, that of the president, should not become a new trading norm for South Korea's real estate market." She criticized, "The market order should not be shaken for the sake of the president's own home sale. I want to ask whether this is the normalization of the real estate market that President Lee Jae-myung speaks of."
