"Passing Real Estate Bill Without Review?"... Judiciary Committee Struggles Over 'Subcommittee Formation'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 3rd, at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, a large number of bills related to the government's real estate measures and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gongu-cheo) were submitted, sparking a clash between the ruling and opposition parties over the formation of a subcommittee. The opposition insists that a subcommittee should be formed to review the bills, while the ruling party maintains its position that not forming a subcommittee does not violate the National Assembly Act.

On the same day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee submitted 16 follow-up bills related to real estate and Gongu-cheo at the plenary meeting.

Among them, the amendments to the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act, Corporate Tax Act, and Income Tax Act propose raising the comprehensive real estate tax rate up to 6.0% for owners of three or more houses or two houses in designated adjustment areas, and including pre-sale rights in the count of houses for the purpose of imposing heavy capital gains tax on multi-homeowners.

Also included in the agenda were amendments such as the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act introducing the monthly rent reporting system, the Housing Act imposing a residence obligation of up to five years on residents of houses under the private land price ceiling system, and the Local Tax Act raising acquisition tax rates to 8% to 12% for multi-homeowners in designated adjustment areas.

Members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the United Future Party (Tonghapdang) argue that these bills should be reviewed first through the formation of a subcommittee. United Future Party lawmaker Yoon Han-hong referred to the Lease Protection Act, which was passed last week without subcommittee review, saying, "Over the weekend, I felt a sense of self-reproach as I observed the reactions of the media and the public," and criticized, "The purpose of forming a subcommittee is to filter out side effects, and the same applies now. Why is the Legislation and Judiciary Committee reluctant to form a subcommittee?" He demanded the formation of a subcommittee. Before the committee meeting, United Future Party members also issued a statement criticizing Chairman Yoon Ho-jung's unilateral handling of the proceedings.

In response, ruling party members cited Article 57 of the National Assembly Act to maintain their stance that a subcommittee is unnecessary. Article 57 states that "Standing committees may establish permanent subcommittees (subcommittees)," indicating that forming a subcommittee is optional, not mandatory. Song Ki-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "We can just discuss the structural and systematic issues and then proceed according to the next procedures."

During this process, United Future Party lawmaker Jo Su-jin criticized Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min for saying at the Gyeongnam provincial delegate meeting, "If there is anything the Legislation and Judiciary Committee can do for Gyeongnam, please contact me," calling it a problem and saying, "He lacks the qualifications as a committee member." Kim responded, calling it "a typical case of nitpicking words," and explained, "Since there is nothing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee can do related to the region in Gyeongnam, I used irony to express my regret," leading to a brief exchange of words.

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