The Democratic Party of Korea has urged the government to implement supply measures at the government level to respond to the 'upward trend in the real estate market' ahead of the regular National Assembly in September. On the other hand, Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign promise and the online platform regulation law, aimed at global platform corporations, will be downsized, aware of the fierce backlash from the United States. Instead, it has been decided to accelerate economic legislation such as the revision of the Capital Market Act and the establishment of the Digital Asset Act for processing during the regular National Assembly.
According to the Democratic Party on the 29th, lawmakers belonging to the Democratic Party in the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee gathered their opinions during a two-day workshop held from the previous day, stating that 'real estate supply measures need to be prepared promptly.' This signifies the need for fundamental measures, such as supply expansion, as real estate prices, which had momentarily stalled following the government's June 27 loan regulations, rebounded again in August. Earlier, Kang Hoon, the Presidential Chief of Staff, and Ku Yun-cheol, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, also noted that 'the government will soon announce supply measures.'
The mood within the Democratic Party regarding real estate policy is cautious. Unlike in the past, when the ruling party took the lead in proposing regulatory and supply policies, this time, it seems to be keeping pace while watching the government's announcements. In fact, there are more than ten special committees and task forces active within the Democratic Party, but there is no dedicated organization for real estate stabilization. This contrasts with the 'real estate special committee' that discussed property tax and loan regulations during the Moon Jae-in administration. A ruling party official said, 'The trauma from the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations losing power due to failures in real estate policy is still at play.' The government has also postponed measures like increased transfer taxes and property tax hikes as 'secondary measures.'
Instead, the Democratic Party is focusing on legislative support for revitalizing maintenance projects and public housing, selecting the following as priority bills for the regular National Assembly: ▲the Maintenance Project Activation Act, which includes raising the redevelopment and reconstruction floor area ratio and easing contributions; ▲the Public Housing Special Act, centered on easing building regulations for urban public housing projects. A lawmaker from the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee stated, 'Price stabilization measures are areas that are difficult for the party to directly intervene in,' adding that, 'In principle, the party can only gather consensus on the necessity of supply expansion.'
◇Reduce speed of the online platform law and aim to process the 'stock buyback' in the regular National Assembly
The online platform regulation bill will be promoted in a downsized manner. Initially, it was intended to be pursued through two branches: the online platform monopoly regulation law and the online platform transaction fairness law, but due to U.S. trade pressures, the monopoly regulation law has been postponed. This bill targets global platform corporations such as Google and Apple, containing provisions for mandatory reporting of domestic sales, prohibiting mandatory payment, and rationalizing commission fees. It provoked fierce backlash during the U.S.-Korea trade negotiations. In this regard, the Democratic Party decided to prioritize processing only the transaction fairness law focused on protecting onboarding businesses.
Conversely, legislation related to the capital market is being expedited. The Democratic Party proposed key bills as goals for processing in the regular National Assembly, including ▲the revision of the Commercial Act, mandating stock buybacks; ▲the revision of the Capital Market Act to prevent duplicate listings; and ▲the Digital Asset Basic Act, which provides a basis for issuing won stablecoins. The revision of the Capital Market Act is a presidential campaign promise of President Lee and is included in the key tasks of the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning's 'five-year plan.'
However, the list of 'priority bills for the regular National Assembly' announced by the Democratic Party did not include the revision of the Capital Market Act. Concerns have been raised regarding 'policy delays.' In response, the party's policy committee and the KOSPI 5000 special committee issued a statement reaffirming their stance that 'it will be processed within the regular National Assembly.' The Democratic Party stated, 'The revision of the Capital Market Act is being discussed and coordinated in cooperation with the policy committee under the lead of the KOSPI 5000 special committee,' adding, 'Although the processing of the bill by the National Policy Committee is currently slow, we will persuade the opposition parties.' It was also stated that efforts will be made to pass improvements to the stock buyback system within the regular National Assembly.