President Lee: “Reducing Capital Gains Tax on Homes Not Lived In Is a Policy Encouraging Speculation”

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum held at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the 23rd (local time). Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On April 24, President Lee Jaemyung criticized, “Reducing capital gains tax on high-priced homes simply because they have been held for a long time as an investment, even though the owner does not actually live there, is not a housing protection policy but a policy that encourages housing speculation.” He also indicated his intention to reduce tax benefits for non-resident single-home owners.

On this day, President Lee wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter), “You pay income tax on the money you earn through hard work, so it is only natural to pay capital gains tax on home sales,” making this point.

Along with his post, President Lee shared a news article reporting that confusion has arisen in the market over the controversy surrounding the potential abolition of the Long-Term Ownership Special Deduction (LTSD). The article mentioned that lawmakers from the broad ruling bloc, including Assemblyman Yoon Jong-o of the Progressive Party, have proposed an amendment to the income tax law to abolish the LTSD and set a lifetime limit on the amount of tax benefits an individual can receive.

President Lee asked, “Who are the people who spread the frenzy of buying a single ‘smart home’ in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, causing a chain reaction of surging home prices across the country—and even worldwide—and who are those who shield them?” He continued, “Is correcting the abnormal situation of granting tax breaks to those who speculated on homes they do not live in really a ‘tax bomb’?”

He also pointed out, “After a brief lull, it seems that forces promoting real estate speculation are becoming active again.”

President Lee further emphasized, “Some opposition parties have proposed a bill to limit the LTSD, which has nothing to do with the government, but are manipulating the facts and attacking as if it were a presidential initiative. To properly protect the housing of single-home owners, it is only right to reduce tax deductions for non-resident holding periods, and correspondingly increase deductions for periods actually spent living in the home.”

In addition, President Lee stated, “Normalizing abnormality and escaping from real estate speculation is this country’s last survival strategy. Home prices must stabilize so that people can settle down, get married, and have and raise children.”

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