In unaffordable Seoul, housing is at the centre of the S.Korea election

Jang Sung-won, 32, who owns YouTube channel Saver King, reads a book at his home in Paju, South Korea, February 23, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Lee Jae-hong would have had no trouble buying a home in the suburb of Ilsan on the outskirts of Seoul back in 2018. With a strong credit score and a job at a blue chip company, borrowing enough for an average apartment in the city costing about $562,000 was well within reach.

But the now 39-year-old held off thinking there would be better opportunities in the coming years - only to be "gobsmacked" by a near tripling of prices in his neighbourhood since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017.