Kim Yong-beom, head of the Presidential Office's Policy Office, noted on the 20th that related to President Lee Jae-myung's comment during his presidential campaign that he would not impose taxes for the purpose of stabilizing real estate prices, "In any case, saying that we will not use taxes is not a promise." He also emphasized that stabilizing the real estate market and ensuring housing welfare are absolute goals, stating, "Methods should not be restricted."
During a press conference at the Presidential Office that afternoon, Kim responded to a question regarding whether the President's will to not control housing prices with taxes remains firm, saying, "Isn't it a statement of hope that we wouldn't want to reach a situation where we have to use taxes to control housing prices?" This implies that although President Lee declared, "I will not control housing prices with taxes," the policy direction could change at any time.
Kim emphasized, "Housing welfare and stabilizing the real estate market are the most important things. The means cannot be absolute," adding, "That is something from that time, and I think that the statement about not using taxes is a commitment to manage things well to avoid reaching such a situation."
He further stated, "To ensure stability in the real estate market, means should not be a constraint," and added, "The upper goal is to ensure that the real estate market's rapid rise or fall does not cause difficulties for our economy, and that it is managed stably." Kim remarked, "Saying that we will not use taxes (policy) under any circumstances is not a policy," and stressed that thinking that it will be fine because they won't use the strongest measures (real estate tax) is a misconception.
◇ Public institution reform TF announced, 'Restructuring No. 1' is LH
A large-scale restructuring of public institutions has also been announced. The task force for public institution reform will be formed under Chief of Staff Kang Hoon, including the head of the Policy Office, Chief of Political Affairs, and Chief of Integrated Listening. Previously, President Lee Jae-myung, during a savings meeting on national finances he hosted on the 13th, stated, "There are too many public institutions; I can't even count them," directing the need for organizational efficiency, which is a follow-up measure to that.
Kim stated, "There are a lot of things to do regarding increasing the efficiency of public institutions, governance issues, improving evaluation systems, and public institution operating committees," indicating that significant reforms will be pursued. There have been several criticisms stating that excessive segmentation of public institutions leads to poor management and financial waste.
He also mentioned that the 'LH (Korea Land & Housing Corporation) Reform TF' will be launched within a week. This means that LH is designated as the first target for reform. The ruling party believes that LH's land distribution structure raises housing prices and that private construction companies unfairly reap the development profits. President Lee mentioned at a Cabinet meeting last June that the structure, where construction companies bid for land that LH has developed to build dwellings, could be viewed negatively as having been forcibly taken, and that it is too taken for granted that they sell the land with a certain profit added to the land price.
Energy-related public institutions are also targets for reform. Kim asserted, "We will proceed with integrating KTX and SRT, and also adjusting the functions of financial public enterprises," adding, "In the era of renewable energy, public institutions may be required to have entirely different roles than before." He acknowledged, "There are also experts who question whether it is indeed appropriate for the Korea Electric Power Corporation to directly manage the intricate tasks of the power system," suggesting that power generation public enterprises also need significant structural changes.