Manipulated Statistics and Overleveraged Homebuyers

Moon Jae-in Administration’s Real Estate Policies, Part 1: Manipulated Statistics and the “All-In Generation”

Under the Lee Jae-myung administration, the real estate market is beginning to stir once again. Apartment prices in Gangnam and the "Han River Line" areas known as "Ma-Yong-Seong" are showing signs of rising. However, the apartment values in places like Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk—along with the new towns surrounding the Gyeonggi region—have remained slashed in half, ever since their panic-buying peak during the final years of the Moon Jae-in government.

Back then, soaring real estate prices led many young Koreans in their 20s and 30s to borrow to their limits, even to the point of despair—an act now infamously known as “Yeongkeul” (short for ‘pulling together every last resource’). Their suffering continues today, trapped in homes worth only half of what they paid.

Through in-depth coverage of these so-called "All-In Generation" youth, the Investigative Report team aims to shed light on just how deeply government policies can affect individual lives—and why the ethics and competence of those implementing those policies are more crucial than ever.

As the Lee Jae-myung administration begins its term, we earnestly hope it will not repeat the mistakes of its predecessor.

We extend our deepest gratitude to the struggling homeowners who cooperated with our investigation. We sincerely hope for the recovery of their daily lives, and call on both the government and society to treat the issue of real estate with the seriousness and depth it deserves.