President Lee Vows to Eradicate Vicious Real Estate Crimes Ruining the Country

Special Crackdown Plan Released Directly via X
Full-Scale Real Estate Battle as President Lee Highlights Property Holding Tax

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 24th, President Lee Jae-myung announced through X his comprehensive response plan to real estate speculation and market disruption, declaring, "We will definitely root out the vicious real estate crimes that ruin the country." By directly releasing materials detailing the special crackdown plan and stating, "Without normalizing the disastrous 'Real Estate Republic,' there is no future for the Republic of Korea," he further reinforced the government's stance on real estate regulation.

President Lee also addressed the real estate issue at the State Council meeting that day, calling it "the worst problem facing the Republic of Korea." He said, "Allowing real estate speculation to go unchecked will ruin the country," and added, "Resistance driven by self-interest is inevitable, but if we cannot overcome it, neither the government nor the country has a future."

He then directed all ministries and agencies, saying, "Whether it is tax policy, finance, or regulation, you must be prepared for everything and thoroughly eliminate any possibility of abuse, leaving not even a 0.1% gap. There is no need to consider political factors at all." This made it clear that the government would no longer tolerate the so-called "invincibility perception" and speculative mentality surrounding the real estate market.

Attention quickly turned to property holding taxes. President Lee shared an article on social media comparing property holding taxes in major overseas cities with those in Korea, remarking, "I was curious about this myself." With the president himself bringing the property holding tax issue into the spotlight, there was speculation that the government might be moving toward tax reform.

President Lee Jae-myung posted the message on X: "I will definitely root out the vicious real estate crimes that ruin the country. Without normalizing the ruinous 'Real Estate Republic,' there is no future for the Republic of Korea," along with materials outlining the second special crackdown plan on real estate crimes. Photo by President Lee Jae-myung X

Previously, on the 22nd, President Lee had ordered the exclusion of multiple-home owners and public officials owning high-priced non-residential properties from the real estate policy-making process. On this day, he further increased the pressure by directly presenting the special crackdown plan. At the State Council meeting, he pointed out that rising real estate prices increase the burden on ordinary citizens and drive up corporate production costs, leading to a vicious cycle of inflation.

Accordingly, there is speculation that the government will first mobilize all available financial, investigative, and regulatory tools, such as tightening loan regulations, administrative crackdowns, and blocking market-disrupting activities, rather than immediately raising holding taxes. However, if the market becomes unstable again following the end of the temporary suspension of the heavy capital gains tax on multiple-home owners, it is possible that measures including property holding taxes will be considered as part of follow-up stabilization efforts.

President Lee also responded directly to opposition criticism on this day. Addressing the claim that if public officials who own multiple homes are excluded from real estate policy roles, then public officials holding stocks should also be excluded from capital market policy, he wrote on social media, "Just because we protect frogs doesn't mean we have to protect mosquitoes as well."

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