Joeunhee: "Park Jumin is brazen... Reduce property tax in his constituency Eunpyeong-gu"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Jo Eun-hee, the mayor of Seocho-gu who is pushing for a property tax refund in Seocho-gu, fired back at Park Ju-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said "taxes are not pocket money," calling it "brazen." She also pointed out that the property tax levied in Eunpyeong-gu, Park's constituency, has increased fivefold.

On the 29th, Mayor Jo said on Facebook, "Isn't the problem the president's 'tax increase on the common people' going in the wrong direction?"

Seocho-gu is currently promoting a 50% reduction in property tax for single-homeowners with properties valued under 900 million won. In response, Park criticized, saying, "Taxes are not the mayor's pocket money."

Mayor Jo fired back, "For the past three and a half years, the president has been imposing tax increases on the common people, yet no harsh words are directed at him, while the only opposition party mayor who is refunding taxes is being told what to do and what not to do," adding, "they should get their facts straight."

She said, "'Mr. President, please do not spend the hard-earned taxes like pocket money,' 'Our people are not the president's inexhaustible treasure,' and advise the president accordingly," and criticized Park, saying, "while you cannot say a word to the leader driving the tax train in reverse, why do you direct misplaced arrows at me who is doing my best to ease the burden of citizens suffering from the tax bomb?"

Mayor Jo stated, "At the start of the Moon Jae-in administration in May 2017, the median price of apartments in Seoul was 603.5 million won. This incompetent government raised house prices by over 50%, or more than 300 million won on average, in just three and a half years due to flawed real estate policies, and is collecting more taxes,"

she criticized the government's tax policy, saying, "Moreover, they intentionally raised the official property prices vertically, extracting double or triple taxes from the common people."

She also advised Park to reduce property taxes in his constituency, Eunpyeong-gu. Mayor Jo said, "In Park's constituency, Eunpyeong-gu, property tax levies increased significantly from 3 billion won in 2017 to 15.1 billion won in 2020, and the common people are facing a tax bomb," adding, "Instead of gleefully celebrating that taxes have increased by more than 47%, they should first take measures to reduce property taxes in Eunpyeong-gu, where the tax increase on the common people is happening."

She pointed out, "Seocho-gu is not refunding property taxes because it is financially comfortable compared to other districts in Seoul, but out of sincerity to save as much budget as possible to return it to citizens suffering from the COVID-19 crisis and the sharp rise in property taxes," and noted that Eunpyeong-gu, Park's constituency, ranks 4th out of 25 districts in financial power index.

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