Multi-family villas in Gangseo, Seoul / Yonhap
Choi Sung-ho, 67, who has lived in a small apartment in northern Seoul for nearly three decades, said the thought of being left without monthly rental income keeps him up at night.
He is currently renting out a unit in a four-story building, commonly called a “multi-family villa,” nearby. The sleepless nights began when President Lee Jae Myung posted a message on social media questioning the fairness of extending loans to people who own multiple homes.
Choi's anxiety deepened as news reports said financial authorities were moving quickly to hold meetings, outlining measures to deny loan extensions for those registered as rental business operators.
“Am I a greedy speculator? I don’t think so. I don’t own multiple expensive homes — just one for my wife and me to live in, and one that gives us a steady monthly income so we can maintain our dignity in retirement without asking our children for money. We’re not luxury investors with high-rise buildings. That monthly rent is what pays for groceries and hospital bills.”
Choi has a bank loan tied to the rental property. He took it out assuming he would be able to extend the maturity, as he had done in previous years.
“If they suddenly refuse extensions, how are we supposed to repay the principal all at once?” he said. “If the target is people with multiple expensive homes in southern Seoul, then target them. Why treat a retiree with one rental the same way?”
Similarly, Lee Mi-ja, who is in her late 60s, depends on rent from an apartment she purchased a decade ago after leaving her job.
“I receive monthly payments from the state-run National Pension Service (NPS), but I simply cannot survive on that alone,” she said. “The rental income is the only thing keeping me afloat. What else can I do? Open a fried chicken shop like many retirees, only to go bankrupt? The government says it wants to help the self-employed. I, like many in my generation, am self-employed. The only difference is that I refuse to waste my money for something I know will cost me everything, including my health.”
She said the government should reconsider denying loan extensions, especially for people like her who have built their post-retirement plans on monthly rental income. "Go after those holding multiple luxury homes waiting for large price gains," she said.
Source: Korea Times News
