Prime Minister Jeong: "Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Cannot Be Nullified, but Partial Relief for Single-Homeowners Is Possible"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 11th, "While the comprehensive real estate tax should not be nullified, partial relaxation is possible only for single-home households."

In an interview with Yonhap News on the same day, Prime Minister Chung said, "Since the comprehensive real estate tax threshold (900 million KRW) was set, housing prices have risen significantly, so it is possible to make adjustments only for single-home households."

However, he reiterated, "Although the comprehensive real estate tax has the nature of a wealth tax, it is more focused on preventing speculation, so it is right to fulfill the legislative intent well," adding, "It should not be nullified."

Single-home owners are subject to the comprehensive real estate tax if the official housing price exceeds 900 million KRW. This threshold was established in 2009. At that time, the median price of apartments in Seoul was about 470 million KRW, but now it exceeds 900 million KRW. Since the tax threshold remained unchanged while housing prices nearly doubled, there have been many demands to update the standard to reflect reality.

In response, Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party's COVID-19 National Crisis Response Committee Chair, hinted at easing the comprehensive real estate tax for actual demanders such as single-home owners during the April 15 general election campaign. Recently, mentions of the need to ease the comprehensive real estate tax also surfaced during the Democratic Party floor leader election process.

Regarding the proposed constitutional amendment on the concept of public land ownership raised within the ruling party, Prime Minister Chung drew a line, saying, "There must be national consensus," and "There has been no discussion between the party and the government."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.