(profile) Moon names new land minister following public officials' speculative land deals

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in's pick to lead South Korea's housing policy is expected to focus on stabilizing rising home prices in the remaining year of the current administration.

Noh Hyeong-ouk, former chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is set to replace Byeon Chang-heum as land minister after a parliamentary confirmation hearing in the coming days.

The parliamentary confirmation hearing is widely seen as a formality because his appointment does not require approval from the National Assembly.

The replacement comes as Byeon has been under mounting public fire for speculative land deals involving public servants at the Korea Land & Housing Corp., where he formerly served as chief of the state-run housing developer.

Their murky deals undermined the credibility of the government's real estate policies, which have failed to stabilize the real estate market.

The rising property prices and tight lending rules made it more difficult not only for low-income families but also high earners to buy a home in Seoul without financial support from their parents.

Noh studied political science at Yonsei University and began his public career in 1999 at the National Budget Administration.

The 58-year-old official was mainly engaged in the government's budget and fiscal policy departments before he served as chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination from 2018-2020.

The land minister nominee is also expected to focus on providing more homes to the underprivileged at prices lower than the market rate and under long-term contracts in line with the government's housing policies.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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