People Power Party (PPP) leader Kang Dong-hyuk is shifting the front of his party's fight against the government to real estate, using the government's tax reform as leverage. As an exit emerged from the party's earlier street-protest stance following the agreement on the "Election Commission Special Counsel Bill" and the extension of the parliamentary investigation committee's activities, Kang is now tightening his offensive aimed squarely at property policy. On the 7th, Kang countered a real estate review meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung by holding a meeting of the party's "Special Committee for the Normalization of Real Estate Policy."
The PPP held a plenary session of the Special Committee for the Normalization of Real Estate Policy that day, chaired by Kang, discussing the ripple effects of the government's tax reform proposal and measures to expand housing supply.
At the meeting, Kang criticized, "During the one year of the Lee Jae-myung administration, Seoul apartment prices rose by 11 percent, an overwhelming first place among successive administrations," adding that "the main culprit that created a real estate hell is the Lee Jae-myung administration."
He also took direct aim at the government's tax reform proposal, citing the results of an emergency opinion poll conducted by the Yeouido Institute. Kang explained, "When asked whether the real estate tax reform proposal would help stabilize housing prices, 54 percent of the public answered it would not help," adding that "while 47 percent of the public believe the tax burden on owner-occupier single-home owners will increase, only 10 percent believe it will decrease."
He then urged a policy shift, saying, "If the public does not trust the policy, its effects cannot be expected," and that "easing regulations and loans and promoting stalled redevelopment and reconstruction is real estate normalization."
Public opinion is also worsening, with a recent survey by pollster Realmeter showing that negative assessments of President Lee's handling of state affairs led positive assessments beyond the margin of error for the first time since he took office. The PPP is using this as an opportunity to define rising real estate prices, stock market instability, and the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority as "policy failures" of the government and ruling party, striving to seize the initiative in the political arena.
Indeed, while commentary from the party's spokesperson team on the Election Commission has noticeably declined, commentary on real estate and the stock market has increased significantly. Lawmakers belonging to related standing committees, such as the National Assembly's Finance, Economy and Planning Committee, are also supporting the party's offensive against the government through supplementary legislation and joint statements.
The Democratic Party (DP) immediately hit back. Han Byeong-do, the DP's acting leader and floor leader, fiercely criticized Kang for having said the previous day that he "wonders about the president's mental world" in criticizing President Lee, saying, "There are boundaries that must be observed and a minimum level of dignity."
He then demanded that the PPP cooperate in passing housing supply-related bills. "While saying they will stabilize housing prices through supply, they are actually blocking the government's follow-up bills for supply measures in the National Assembly," he said. "If they are sincere about housing supply, cooperate with holding the plenary session on the 13th and passing the related bills."
