Rep. Kim Eun-hye: ”Moon administration is forcing pre-applications to hide soaring housing prices” (South Korea)

Allegations have been made that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) under the Moon Jae-in administration unreasonably increased the number of advance applications for the "Honeymoon Hope Town," thereby exacerbating the damage caused by delayed occupancy.
The office of Kim Eun-hye, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and a member of the ruling People Power Party, said in a press release on the 7th, "We have received documents submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)."
"Our analysis showed that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under the Moon administration was aware of the reasons for the delays in moving in, but still pushed for advance applications," they said.
According to the lawmaker's office, the Moon administration announced in May 2020 that it would apply for prepayment in 2021 through the "Proposal to Strengthen the Housing Supply Base in the Capital Region."
The company announced that it would accept 9,000 pre-applications. Then, as real estate prices soared, it significantly increased the number of pre-applications to 60,000 three months later, and further expanded it to 160,000 a year later in August 2021.
Currently, moving into a pre-application housing complex like Newlywed Hope Town is subject to delays in land compensation, delays in obstruction compensation, delays in relocation of high-voltage transmission lines, capture and relocation of legally protected species, delays in cultural property surveys, etc.
There are various reasons for the delay. Rep. Kim pointed out that most of the reasons for the delay were listed in the application notice for the Newlywed Town.
Although the pre-application announcement stated that "there are few factors that could cause delays to the project," the actual pre-application announcement's "Conditions for the district and complex" clearly states the reasons for the delays and warnings that are currently occurring.
Among the 11 cases presented by the council member's office, the October 2021 pre-application notice for Daejae, Gunpo City, where occupancy was delayed due to a high-voltage transmission line relocation project, states, "(
The move-in period may change depending on the schedule for the underground construction of the high-voltage transmission line.
Residents of Wangsu in Jongno and Gomo Housing Complex in Siheung had opposed the development of public housing land for two to three years before the pre-application announcement, and had expressed their opposition at a strategic environmental impact assessment briefing hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Rep. Kim said, "When real estate prices soared, they tried to cover it up by forcing through an unreasonable system of advance application. In the end, 160,000 people were left without a home because they trusted the government.
"The government will be remembered as a 'mobile real estate agency' government that has been expanding its business," he said. "We cannot leave the responsibility of the previous administration, which failed to forecast demand, including the rise in construction costs, unattended," Kim said.
"Therefore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism must stably guarantee the rights of those who applied in advance and won the lottery," he said, calling for a plan to consider guaranteeing the rights of victims regardless of the profits.
According to the "Details of Announced Land Cancellations" document released by the company, LH has collected a total of 65.3 billion won (approximately 6.2 billion yen) in contract fees for six private pre-application complexes that were cancelled this year.
As an alternative, the government has proposed a plan to minimize the increase in sales prices for those who have won the public pre-application process, which is currently delayed.
In the case of applications (Bogeumjari Housing), even if the actual application is late, the sales price will be determined according to the estimated sales price presented at the time of pre-application, reducing the burden of extension of the period for pre-application applicants.
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