Winners and losers after one year of the Lee Jae Myung government

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Koh Hyun-kohn

The author is the chief editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo. 

Almost one year into the Lee Jae Myung administration, stock investors are the clearest winners in the economy. The Kospi, which stood at 2,698 points when President Lee first took office, has nearly tripled since then. An investor who put 100 million won ($66,850) into an index fund last summer would now hold assets worth about 300 million won.

In 2025 alone, individual investors earned 429 trillion won from stocks, and profits have only grown stronger. Stories about people earning “a lifetime’s worth of savings” in a short period of time have become common. Despite obvious signs of overheating, the market is dominated by investors’ optimism.

Last year, the president said that he wanted to create an environment in which “returning to the domestic stock market would be considered a sign of intelligence.” In some ways, that goal has been realized. But not everyone is celebrating.

Those unable or unwilling to join the stock rally increasingly suffer from “FOMO,” or the fear of missing out. That does not mean that they lack judgment. Some are simply unwilling to risk their retirement savings on equities, and others do not have the money to spare for investments. For people outside the market, Lee’s “sign of intelligence” remark can sound insulting.

While rising stock prices are preferable to falling ones, they do little to reduce inequality. According to the Bank of Korea, the wealthiest 20 percent of households own 73 percent of all stocks. The wealthy become wealthier, and many lower-income households remain spectators.

Young people and low-income earners hoping to transform their financial situation have increasingly turned to debt-financed investing. Outstanding margin loans that are used to buy stocks have surpassed a record 36 trillion won. That is hardly normal.

However, the government appears more focused on boosting markets than warning the public about risks. On May 11, as the Kospi rose for the fifth consecutive session, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol remarked that the market remained undervalued. The country’s top economic official sounded more like a securities firm executive than a policymaker tasked with maintaining stability.

Investors bear primary responsibility for their own decisions, but a government that ignores or encourages speculative excess cannot avoid responsibility forever.

Another group of winners during this administration’s first year has been apartment owners in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan areas. Housing prices have repeatedly surged despite government measures aimed at stabilization, with many increasing by 500 million won to 1 billion won over the past year alone.

Earlier this month, Lee declared that “the myth that real estate prices never fall no longer exists,” but the reality suggests otherwise. After heavier capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes resumed on May 10, apartment prices began to climb again.

At the start of the administration, officials predicted that money would flow out of the real estate market and into stocks. Instead, the reverse happened. Many people used profits from stocks to buy property. According to the Bank of Korea, people without homes spent roughly 70 percent of their stock profits on real estate purchases. The government appears to have underestimated the fact that property ownership still dominates public thinking.

More troubling than the soaring housing prices is the rental market. The number of available jeonse (lump-sum deposit) and monthly rental listings has fallen by more than 30 percent this year, which has pushed prices sharply higher. Last week, Seoul’s jeonse prices recorded their steepest increase in a decade.

In some cases, renters are signing contracts before even viewing properties, creating what has become known as “no-look jeonse.” Even in outer Seoul districts, such as Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk, Geumcheon, Gwanak and Guro, places with a monthly rent of 3 million won have appeared in the market. That number nearly matches the nation’s median monthly salary of 3.5 million won from last year.

The primary cause for this is the shrinking housing supply. New apartment move-ins in the Seoul metropolitan area are expected to total just 106,000 units this year, the lowest figure in 12 years.

The government’s focus on targeting owners of multiple homes may have also worsened rental shortages. Such owners supply 70 to 80 percent of rental housing. Tightening residency requirements for long-term capital gains tax deductions could further reduce the number of available jeonse units.

If the rental market becomes paralyzed, lower-income households will lose an important real estate ladder as rising rental costs could push home prices higher.

President Lee frequently comments on issues ranging from economic policy to social debates through X and public meetings. But despite the worsening rental crisis, the administration has largely remained silent. Presidential aides and cabinet ministers have done the same.

Recently, Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, claimed that the housing market had finally entered a phase of downward stabilization. For renters unable to find homes, his comments sound detached from reality.

The government may not want to admit it, but after one year in office, the biggest winners are people who own both stocks and homes, and the losers are those without financial assets or property. Ironically, this has unfolded under a progressive administration that emphasizes redistribution.

The government has pursued programs — including high oil-price relief, expanded support for nonregular workers, inclusive finance initiatives and rural basic income programs — to help vulnerable groups, yet these efforts have been overshadowed by the widening asset inequality. The more prevalent question is who is confronting the growing polarization now reshaping Korean society.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.