Kim Yong-beom, the presidential office's director of national policy, apologized for recent attempts to rein in housing prices in Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province and said related measures are temporary.

Kim told the Dong-A Ilbo that recent zoning measures, which have drawn public backlash, were necessary to curb upward pressure on housing prices after earlier attempts to regulate demand failed.

The presidential aide said that once the administration puts forward a concrete package of supply measures and the market stabilizes, it will consider gradually lifting the designations.

He said all related ministries are in a desperate search for land to provide new housing, and that the administration intends to announce its progress before the end of the year.

On the exchange rate, Kim said that, though the administration is well aware of young people's eagerness to divert investments into the stock market or virtual assets amid rising housing prices, overseas investments are among the factors weighing on the local currency.

Kim said that a near-term increase in capital gains tax on overseas investments is not on the table, but added that it is important to check whether securities firms are excessively encouraging the practice.