| Professor Kang-soo Jeon, Department of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics and Finance, Daegu Catholic University, a real estate policy expert and land justice activist, publishes a series of ‘Jeon Kang-soo’s Gyeongje-min’, which gives a debate on economic justice and real estate issues, and explains the economic issues that emerge from the moment. ‘Gyeongse Jemin’ was used to mean that the people are comfortable by managing the world well, and the abbreviation of this word is also’economy’. I dream of restoring the’equal land rights society’ that the Republic of Korea once realized through land reform after liberation.[편집자말] |
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| ▲ President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the State Council meeting held at the Blue House Women’s Hall on the morning of the 16th. | |
| Ⓒ Provided by the Blue House |
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President Moon Jae-in bowed his head. President Moon apologized at the State Council meeting held at the Blue House on the morning of the 16th, saying, “I think there is still a long way to go to the recent LH real estate speculation suspicion.” The President continued, “The Korean government, which was born through the Candlelight Revolution, has been doing its best to overcome corruption and injustice and to create a transparent and fair society.” He said, “We have been working tirelessly to eliminate the obstruction of our lives.
On the previous day, on the 15th, President Moon said, “(The government) has just focused on the stability of the real estate market and responded to the emerging phenomenon.” He said he couldn’t take a step up to liquidating the real estate obstruction, which has been the root of social injustice.
After taking office, the President, who has been talking about housing prices as all about real estate policy, apologized to the public and, for the first time, pointed out the problems of unearned income and asset inequality, emphasizing the need for a fundamental solution. It can’t be said that it’s amazing.
Although few people do not know that the real estate problem is the biggest frustration in Korean society, President Moon Jae-in did not seem to be aware of it. Even though the Republic of Korea, which started from the state of land ownership in 1950 with very equal land ownership, fell into a real estate republic and reached a state in need of major surgery in the decades that followed, President Moon acted as if he did not have such awareness. .
In the early days of the regime,’income-led growth, innovative growth, and a fair economy’ were advocated, but the President didn’t seem to realize that real estate unearned income was the factor that held back the three. Although real estate speculation is like a giant monster, it seemed that he was not aware of the need for fundamental policy measures to suppress it.
The Moon Jae-in administration has implemented a real estate policy to the extent that it has added a few residential welfare policies to it while properly managing real estate prices with a short-term market control policy throughout its inception, so it is natural to evaluate it this way. Recently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the 2.4 countermeasure and shifted its stance to a massive supply expansion policy, but it is my judgment that this is only a ‘empty-legged policy’ proposed for ‘existence proof’ in a helpless situation.
Wrong direction
Even at the end of the term, the president’s real estate recognition is becoming more accurate, so it is something to be happy to do. However, looking at the contents of the entire remarks, it is inevitable that a question arises. While emphasizing the necessity of a fundamental policy that can resolve inequality caused by unearned income in real estate, that is,’real estate abolition’, it did not properly suggest the solution.
President Moon Jae-in’s emphasis on fundamental institutional reform was only about preventing corruption in real estate by public officials. The president seems to have determined that the speculation of LH employees was caused by failure to properly prevent abnormal real estate transactions and illegal speculation. It contains some truth, but it does not appear to be a full perception.
If there is a’sweet thing’, the bees around will flock. To prevent bees from rushing, you can remove the sweets. If you leave it alone and try to chase the crowds of bees, you can’t stop the bees and you’re likely to get stung by the bees. To eradicate real estate speculation, an institutional mechanism to prevent unearned real estate income can be established. If you neglect this and focus only on cracking down on public officials, there will be problems elsewhere.
There are already ways to get rid of sweets in the real estate market. It is to block unearned income by strengthening the land tenure tax, and to focus the public’s role in housing supply on land rental housing and long-term public rental housing. If you are afraid of tax resistance due to the strengthening of the land tenure tax, you can link it with basic income, and if it is difficult to supply only land rental housing and long-term public rental housing due to LH funding circumstances, instead of dismantling the LH, you can establish the Land and Housing Administration and take over the work. do.
President Moon Jae-in condemned the illegal dumping of public officials, but in fact, the Moon administration is also responsible for this. This is because it pursued a erratic policy to solve the soaring house prices caused by speculative demand by expanding supply. It was the Moon Jae-in administration that promoted the third new city policy, and the Moon Jae-in administration stepped on the accelerator pedal to enable radical reconstruction and redevelopment in various places in Seoul as a measure of 2.4. I’m a recently published book <다시 촛불이 묻는다: 포스트코로나 시대의 사회경제개혁>I wrote the following in the article’Policy Strategy for the Dissolution of the Real Estate Republic’ in (East).
Looking at the contents of the 2.4 measures, it can be seen that the interests of real estate owners in the business area are thoroughly protected, the LH and SH who will implement the project will be given a tremendous amount of work, and the construction company will also be less worried about work for a considerable period of time. The government has stated that the development profits to be secured by the public through the project are shared, but about 75% of the profits are directed to real estate owners as a direct or indirect benefit. It is difficult to clear the feeling that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is trying to unfold a’development feast’ for real estate owners, public companies, and construction companies in front of the homeless people.
Corruption is inevitable if excessive discretion is given to public officials and public corporation employees. The Moon Jae-in administration’s policy to expand housing supply in the metropolitan area is exactly that. However, while the president insisted on preventing corruption in real estate by public officials, he declared his will to pursue the 2.4 countermeasure smoothly. I don’t know what’s different from laying down sweets all over the place and putting the bees on the bees saying they’ll scold them if they rush. It is the epitome of betrayal of interest.
Beyond the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act
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| ▲ Amid the spread of suspicion of real estate speculation by employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), on the morning of the 9th, Seoul Mayor Song Myung-sook and party members of the Progressive Party held a protest at the LH Seoul Regional Headquarters in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, calling for confiscation and punishment. On the glass door at the entrance of LH Seoul Regional Headquarters, “Youth before rent, LH before speculation.” “When you earn 500,000 won to pay rent, LH plant seedlings and smack billions!” There are a lot of stickers with protests, such as “The Thief’s Lair”. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-sung |
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Where would LH employees be the only ones who committed unusual and illegal speculation in the wake of the government’s active real estate development policy? If all development areas across the country are surveyed, there is a high possibility that the results will be alarming to the public. I guess the names of members of the National Assembly, high-ranking officials, and the influential people in our society will pop out here and there. It may be a natural reaction to the people’s power to oppose the thorough investigation and insist on self-investigation.
Therefore, the “prompt enactment of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act” emphasized by President Moon Jae-in must be promoted immediately. But it shouldn’t stop there. At this opportunity, the link between public officials and real estate must be systematically cut off. To do this, it is necessary to implement the real estate blank trust system and the real estate ownership limit system for high-ranking public officials.
When this system is implemented, high-ranking public officials are required to voluntarily sell real estate, not real demand, or make blank trusts to a designated trustee, and if they continue to hold it, they must pay an excess ownership charge that is imposed on a certain value or more of the real estate held.
If the real estate blank trust system and the real estate ownership limit system are implemented for high-ranking public officials, the link between them and real estate can be systematically blocked. With the introduction of this system, the troublesome work of high-ranking officials at every personnel hearing will disappear. It may be argued that it is too much, but since it gives high-ranking officials the option of voluntary sale, blank trust, and continuing possession, their freedom and rights are not severely restricted. The only thing they sacrifice is an opportunity to take advantage of policies to earn unearned income.
Remember four
Let’s summarize the above. This is very important as it can be the key to clearing out real estate storage, emphasized by President Moon Jae-in. Just as the procedure is important in Go, so is the order of policies.
First, a long-term goal of strengthening real estate ownership tax, which has been delayed for four years, a roadmap, and measures to relieve tax resistance must be prepared and announced. It should be remembered that there is no way to solve unearned real estate income by avoiding strengthening the holding tax.
Second, the 2.4 measures, which are not appropriate either as a short-term market stability policy or as a long-term fundamental policy, should be immediately stopped. If we remember the arduous efforts our society has made to end Lee Myung-bak’s developmentalism over the past decade, we cannot dare to pursue such a policy.
Third, the National Assembly must pass the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. In addition, the Democratic Party assures that it will pass the’LH 5 Act’, but the public must keep an eye on whether it has the right content, and if so, whether the National Assembly will really pass the bill.
Fourth, it is necessary to introduce a real estate blank trust system and a real estate ownership limit system for high-ranking public officials. The two systems can be’good news’ that frees both the president and candidates for high-ranking officials, and the people, by systematically blocking the connection between high-ranking officials and real estate. President Moon Jae-in, who insists on pursuing fundamental institutional reforms “to put an end to the history of unfair speculation,” has no reason to ignore these two systems.