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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks at a Thursday luncheon at the Blue House on youth issues. (Yonhap News)

In a press interview published Thursday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed feelings of regret over the state of real estate in the country, which he described as the “heaviest burden throughout my term.”

Moon, who has three months left in office, shared written responses that day to a joint interview by seven global news agencies.

When it comes to policies under his administration, Moon said that “having been unable to stabilize housing prices remains the most painful part.”

Commenting on the causes behind the explosion of housing prices and escalation of real estate woes, Moon noted, “As interest rates stayed low for a long time, liquidity greatly expanded, and money rushed into the real estate market.”

“Although my Administration supplied more housing than any before it, the supply has not met demand due to the continued concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and a rapid rise in the number of single-person households,” he added.

“I greatly regret not pushing for a large expansion of the housing supply much earlier,” he added.

At the same time, he said that “real estate prices have shown a clear decline recently.”

“Every effort will be made to ensure housing stability until the end of my term so that the real estate issue will not burden the next administration,” he said.

Moon also expressed frustration with intensifying societal conflict and the failure to realize national unity.

“I agree that our country has not moved forward toward a politics of unity,” he said.

“Our political culture has not fundamentally changed even following the aftermath from the impeachment of then-President Roh Moo-hyun during his presidency and the tragedy after he left office,” he observed.

He also said, “In the current situation in the run up to the election, I am very concerned about the extreme hatred, confrontation and division.”

“Although it is election season, it is impossible for us to move toward a politics of unity if politicians fan conflict and division,” he cautioned.

Stressing that the situation “is not beneficial to anyone and not desirable for our society as a whole either,” he added, “I believe that politicians, including the President, have a duty to remedy conflicts and unify people.”

Moon further expressed concerns about gender-related conflicts, calling the conspicuous rise in conflict among younger Koreans a “serious development.”

In connection with the issue, he called the responsibilities and roles of the government and politicians “very important.”

“Sometimes, it's necessary to calmly reflect on whether conflicts are being exploited and amplified for political purposes,” he advised.

He also said the situation “is neither the fault of men nor women.”

“The younger generation's hardships are attributed to older generations who failed to provide them with more opportunities and faith in fairness,” he explained.

“I hope that we will be able to find solutions together through healthy discussions even if there are differences in opinions,” he continued.

Remarking on his vision for a declaration officially ending the Korean War, he said, “The Republic of Korea and the United States have now concurred on the wording of an end-of-war declaration to be presented to North Korea.”

“Even China supports this declaration,” he added.

Regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he said, “Even when we have not been able to meet, necessary communication has continued.”

Still, he admitted that accomplishing an end of war declaration before the end of his tenure would be unrealistic, calling the goal “overreaching.” When asked whether the hotline between the leaders of South and North Korea has been used, Moon did not offer a direct reply.

In terms of the possibility of a North Korea-US summit, Moon predicted, “A summit between US President Joe Biden and Chairman Kim will ultimately be achieved as a matter of time.”

On the possibility of an inter-Korean summit, he said, “If there is a will for dialogue, whether the dialogue takes place in person or virtually is not important.” He added, “It is not desirable to insist on prerequisites for dialogue.”

In regard to North Korea’s continued armed provocations, he said, “If North Korea’s continued missile tests progress into the reversal of its moratorium [on testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles], the Korean Peninsula may return to the crisis of war it experienced five years ago in an instant.” He added, “Preventing such crises through persistent dialogue and diplomacy is precisely what political leaders of relevant parties must accomplish together.”

Moon chose his speech in Rungrado Stadium during the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 19, 2018, as the highlight of his presidency, and chose the unsuccessful North Korea-US Hanoi summit as the moment that left most to be desired. Moon said, “If North Korea and the US resume dialogue and negotiation based on the lessons of the no-deal experience of Hanoi, they will be able to make more progress.”

During the interview, Moon expressed regret regarding the Japanese government’s attempt to register the Sado mine complex, a site of forced labor by Koreans during the Japanese colonial period, as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Calling the matter “regrettable,” he said, “It’s a worrying issue at a point when problems from history should be resolved and a future-oriented relationship should be developed [between South Korea and Japan].” Moon has previously never directly mentioned the Sado mine issue.

Regarding South Korea’s relationship with Japan, he said, “Though diplomatic efforts were made to resolve pending issues that need solutions, regrettably, we have yet to reach an agreement.”

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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