Song Eunsuk: "Does Jung Wonoh Agree with Abolishing the Special Deduction?... President Lee Must Apologize"

Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on April 21 that President Lee Jaemyung, who hinted at the abolition of the long-term real estate holding special deduction (Jangteukgong), should apologize for causing confusion among the market and the public through his frivolous use of social networking services (SNS) politics, and should make a public declaration that he will not pursue the abolition of the deduction.

Floor leader Song attended the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that morning and said, "I am very curious to know whether Jung Won-oh, the Seoul mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party who is known as President Lee's 'pick,' agrees with this."

Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on April 21, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Floor leader Song further noted, "While the Democratic Party is hastily trying to put out the fire by claiming that there has been no discussion regarding the abolition of the deduction, this denial is merely a campaign statement with the local elections in mind. Once the elections are over, they will use their majority in the National Assembly to push through legislation that will impose a tax bomb."

Floor leader Song explained, "If the deduction is abolished, and assuming a person lived in a single home that was purchased at the average Seoul apartment price of 540 million won in 2012 and sold at this year’s average price of 1.3 billion won, the capital gains tax would exceed 10 million won. Applying the same standard to President Lee’s apartment in Bundang, the capital gains tax would exceed 60 million won."

Floor leader Song added, "President Lee, whose assets have increased by 1.8 billion won per year based on property registration, may easily afford such taxes, but ordinary neighbors living in the same apartment building would be hit with a carpet-bombing of taxes simply because of their neighbor. The abolition of the deduction would effectively turn the capital gains tax, which is a transaction tax, into a confiscation tax, and would be no different from plundering the public’s assets."

Floor leader Song concluded, "It has been a long time since the deduction was restructured so that the deduction rate varies depending on the number of houses and whether the property is owner-occupied. President Lee must fully recognize that this deduction serves as the minimum fixed device in the tax system that reflects both long-term holding and actual residence."

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