During a recent audit of the provincial government, experts pointed out that owning a house is getting more difficult for regular islanders, as sky-high prices put homes out of reach. They say that there are no proper measures in place to curb real estate speculation. Joseph Kim has more.


The wage of the average worker in Jeju is about 2,240,000 won. The average price of an apartment in the Shin-jeju area is 300 million won. In other words, without spending any money, one have to save all his income for 11 years to purchase an apartment.


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Issue raised during recent audit of provincial government

The challenges of purchasing a home were raised at the Administrative audit and inspection in the Environmental City Commission meeting. Members of the assembly criticized the lack of housing supply policies, pointing out that current housing prices are outrageously overpriced.

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‘Regulations on real estate speculation require modification’

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province insisted that rezoning land for residential use can be a solution, but the members of the assembly keyed in on regulations to prevent real estate speculation as the best way to address the issue.

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Kim Tae-seok / Provincial council member
Proper policies must first be in place. Before redistricting small, rural plots for housing, we need appropriate measures drawn up by experts.
"택지 공급이 우선이 아니라 택지 공급을 하기 이전에 읍·면의 소규모 택지를 읍·면의 정체성에 맞는 기준을 전문가를 통해서 먼저 수립해놓고... "

Row house construction led by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corp. was also the subject of criticism.

Councilmen called the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province to account for its ill thought out plan that said will increase the value of nature but still allows construction on Jeju’s pristine ecology.

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Shin Gwan-hong / Provincial council member
Green space will be damaged. It’s simply thoughtless development. I learned from the JPDC that 46 households were granted permission to build on undeveloped land.
"자연녹지가 훼손됩니다. 난개발됩니다. 그렇게 하지만 행정이 들어가고 있다는 거죠. 그 부분 확실하게 하십시오. 46세대입니다. 개발공사한테 파악했어요."

[reporter]
Joseph Kim

The councilmen also pointed out the confusing web of housing policies and called for unifying administrative processes for increased effectiveness between the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and both cities without shifting responsibility.

Joseph Kim KCTV