"‘Apartments Over 900 Million Won at 24.2% Figure Is Incorrect’ vs. Opposition Party: ‘Ministry of Land’s Official Price Data... Even in Election Rush, Speak the Facts’ Rebuttal"

Dispute Over Apartments Priced Over 900 Million
Ruling Party: "Confusing Market Price with Officially Announced Price"
Opposition: "Use Ministry of Land Data... Speak with Facts"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The ruling and opposition parties are engaged in a fact dispute over the proportion of apartments subject to comprehensive real estate tax with a publicly announced land price of 900 million KRW or more. Hong Ik-pyo, the policy chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly criticized the data from Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party, which stated that the proportion of apartments with a publicly announced land price of 900 million KRW or more is 24.2%, saying, "It seems that the figures were misunderstood by slightly confusing the publicly announced price with the market price."

In response, Representative Kim Eun-hye rebutted, "This is data recently submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under the Moon Jae-in administration," adding, "You may not want to believe it, but one-quarter of apartments in Seoul have a publicly announced price of 900 million KRW or more."

On the 6th, Hong Ik-pyo appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' and commented on Kim Eun-hye's data that 24.2% of apartments in Seoul have a publicly announced price of 900 million KRW or more, saying, "It seems the figures were misread."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Policy Chief Hong said, "The publicly announced land prices were already disclosed in March, and the analysis was completed. Nationwide, 92% are priced at 600 million KRW or less, and in Seoul, about 70% are 600 million KRW or less." He added, "In Seoul, 16% are subject to the comprehensive real estate tax with prices of 900 million KRW or more, and 900 million KRW corresponds to about 1.4 billion KRW in market price. Nationwide, it is less than 4%." He continued, "Therefore, saying 24.2% seems to be a confusion between the publicly announced price and the market price."

Representative Kim Eun-hye directly refuted this. On Facebook, she stated, "It is true that one-quarter of apartments in Seoul have a publicly announced price of 900 million KRW or more." Regarding Hong's claim of confusing the publicly announced price with the market price, she responded, "Market price? If there is government data that uniformly summarizes the market price of apartments nationwide, please share it. It would be useful."

Kim added, "My announcement is based on data recently submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under the Moon Jae-in administration," and countered, "As the policy chief of the ruling party, I expected you to speak facts, so this is disappointing."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the data Kim received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the total number of publicly announced apartments in Seoul in 2021 was 1,680,864 units. Among the 'Number of Apartments by Publicly Announced Price Range,' apartments in Seoul priced at 900 million KRW or more totaled 406,167 units (175,942 units priced between 900 million and 1.2 billion KRW, and 230,225 units priced above 1.2 billion KRW), accounting for 24.16% of all publicly announced apartments in Seoul.

He said, "Perhaps there was a misunderstanding, confusing apartments with detached houses," and advised, "No matter how urgent the election is, I recommend walking the path of integrity, especially in difficult times."

He further criticized, saying, "One in four apartments in Seoul is subject to the comprehensive real estate tax, and Seoul accounts for 80% of the regional share," adding, "This is why the comprehensive real estate tax, which is said to target the top 1%, has transformed into a middle-class tax and is called the 'Seoul tax,' causing Seoul citizens to be engulfed in tax fear."

(Source: Eunhye Kim, Member of the People Power Party)

(Source: Eunhye Kim, Member of the People Power Party)

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