Promised to Crack Down on Multi-Homeowners... Number Increased by 33% in 2 Years Since Moon Government Took Office

Yang Kyung-sook, Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Increase in Multi-Homeowners Despite 'Primary Residence Priority' Policy... Needs Detailed Examination"

2017~2019 Comprehensive Real Estate Tax on Housing by Number of Owned Houses (Source: Office of Yang Kyung-sook, Democratic Party of Korea)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Although the Moon Jae-in administration launched real estate policies immediately after its inauguration, proclaiming a "war against speculation," the number of high-value multi-homeowners has surged. Despite pouring out various heavy tax policies targeting multi-homeowners, these measures had no effect. On the contrary, rising house prices ended up benefiting multi-homeowners.

According to data on the "Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax (종부세) status by number of houses owned," submitted by the National Tax Service to Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of multi-homeowners owning two or more houses subject to the 종부세 increased from 244,470 in 2017 to 324,935 in 2019. This represents an increase of about 33% in just two years.

This data was compiled based on the taxable houses as of June 1 each year, the 종부세 tax standard date. While the number of multi-homeowners increased across all ownership brackets, the two-house ownership bracket saw the largest increase, rising by 51,000 in two years. The three-house owners increased by about 10,900, followed by four-house owners with about 5,600.

In particular, the number of multi-homeowners owning more than 10 houses also rose by about 3,700, from 28,547 in 2017 to 32,263 in 2019. Examining capital gains tax filing status between 2017 and 2019 shows some effect of the government's heavy tax rate application on multi-homeowners. Looking at the period before and after the government's application of heavy tax rates on three or more houses in designated areas (August 2017), the number of assets subject to capital gains tax (three or more houses) increased from 4,000 to 14,000 cases. Also, following the application of heavy tax rates on two houses in adjusted target areas (April 2018), the number of assets subject to capital gains tax (two houses) increased from 16,000 cases (2018) to 22,000 cases (2019). However, these effects on listings were minimal compared to the overall increase in multi-homeowners.

Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "Despite the government's real estate policy prioritizing actual residents, the increase in multi-homeowners needs to be examined in detail."

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