The price of national standard apartments in Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon, has surpassed 2 billion won, sparking discussions online that reference President Lee Jae-myung's recent apartment transaction in Bundang.
On July 20, a post titled "A 15-year-old apartment completed in 2012, national standard 33 pyeong, has surpassed 2 billion won" appeared on an online community.
The author of the post, identified as A, wrote, "A 15-year-old apartment completed in 2012, national standard (33 pyeong) has surpassed 2 billion won. The speed of the housing price increase is truly frightening."
In response, one user commented, "If only someone would lend me 1.77 billion won. If I secure a mortgage and use the rest as a tenant's deposit, I could buy it for zero won," receiving 767 likes.
This comment is interpreted as a satire of President Lee's recent sale of his Bundang apartment, where he set a mortgage for the buyer at a maximum amount of 1.77 billion won.
Other comments included, "This is the area that has been most criticized for being overvalued among new towns, and it’s finally being proven," and "I heard the net amount for the recent lottery first prize is about 500 million won, so you’d need to win four times to even consider buying a house in the metropolitan area."
Additionally, President Lee's statement on the same day that "illegal and circumvention-based real estate windfalls are a major cause of undermining national unity" further fueled the controversy.
Netizens reacted critically, saying, "It feels like mocking the public to say this after the mortgage controversy yesterday," and "Is there no interest on the 1.77 billion won?" Others questioned, "Is the Democratic mortgage different?" and noted, "His credibility is diminished when he makes such statements after being involved in a circumvention controversy while receiving interest on a 1.7 billion mortgage."
Previously, the presidential office explained that the transaction was based on the buyer's circumstances, stating, "The sale was made at a price lower than the market value at 2.9 billion won, and although there was no obligation to sell as a one-home owner, it was done to demonstrate a commitment to real estate normalization policy." However, the related controversy continues to unfold in online communities, leading to ongoing debates about the consistency of the president's real estate policies and actual transaction methods.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.