Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s instruction to prepare a system to mass-purchase homes below a set standard for public housing reserves in anticipation of a potential price collapse, saying the remarks show the president still fails to grasp real estate market reality and people’s livelihoods. Lee had written on X that early mass supply, suppressed speculative demand, and a surge in high-rate loan defaults and auctions could drive such a decline, as part of a broader push to curb speculation and expand end-user supply. Oh argued supply targets lack concrete timelines and execution plans, that temporary asking-price cuts on some ultra-luxury homes ahead of punitive taxes should not be read as a market-wide fall, and that prices are rising on Seoul’s outskirts in a price-leveling pattern. He cited a July Seoul apartment auction successful bid rate of 101.0 percent, above 100 percent for four consecutive months, as evidence of strong pent-up demand and severe supply shortages rather than weakening prices, and said many auction sellers are distressed small business owners or ordinary citizens, not reckless speculators. Oh accused the president of stoking panic without practical supply measures, urged an immediate policy reassessment, and plans further talks this week with Land Minister Kim Yun-duk after two inconclusive meetings on Yongsan Park housing supply.