Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Reach Agreement on Real Estate Tax and CIO Follow-up Legislation

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeongseok is shaking hands with Kim Taenyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Joo Hoyoung, floor leader of the United Future Party, on the 28th in the Speaker's office at the National Assembly before their regular meeting. Photo by Yoon Dongjoo doso7@

[Asia Economy, reporters Kang Nahum and Jeon Jinyoung] The floor leaders of the Democratic Party of Korea and the United Future Party met on July 28 to discuss key issues such as real estate tax legislation and follow-up laws for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), but failed to reach an agreement.

Kim Taenyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Joo Hoyoung, floor leader of the United Future Party, held their regular meeting on this day, presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeongseok. They exchanged views on handling the real estate tax law during the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly, but were unable to produce a consensus.

Park Sungjoon, the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson who attended the meeting, told reporters immediately afterward, "Floor leader Kim emphasized that the real estate tax legislation must be passed during the July extraordinary session, but no coordination was reached," adding, "Despite being given sufficient time, the United Future Party is employing a strategy to delay the bill."

Regarding the CIO legislation, he said, "The Democratic Party plans to handle the three follow-up bills related to the CIO at the National Assembly Steering Committee tomorrow, but the United Future Party insists on postponing the process until after August."

Choi Hyoungdu, spokesperson for the United Future Party, said, "According to the principle of first-in, first-out, bills submitted earlier should be deliberated first in the subcommittee, but the Democratic Party is violating this basic principle due to urgency," adding, "If things are rushed, it could impose excessive taxes on the public." He also stated that the CIO legislation should be handled during the August extraordinary session.

The two parties, however, reached a basic agreement on forming the Special Ethics Committee. They decided to finalize next week whether the committee will have equal representation from both parties or from each negotiation bloc.

Spokesperson Choi said, "The issue of lawmakers holding concurrent positions needs to be reviewed, but the process is being delayed," adding, "We agreed that the committee, whether special or standing, must be formed."

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