President Lee Jae-myung on the 25th said, "The end of the suspension of heavy capital gains taxes for multiple-home owners on May 9, 2026, is already set," adding, "If you thought we would 'do yet another' legal revision to re-extend it, you are mistaken." He also said, "There is no government that beats the market, but there is no market that beats the government, either." It came two days after he said on X (formerly Twitter) on the 23rd that he was not considering an extension of the exemption at all. If the system resumes, multiple-home owners must sell holdings and settle the balance before the sunset to avoid the heavy capital gains tax.
That morning on X, Lee said, "Korea is returning to a normal, predictable society," and added, "However difficult it may be, we must eliminate unfair benefits caused by abnormality." He continued, "However difficult it may be, we must eliminate unfair benefits caused by abnormality," and said, "Abnormal stalling must not be profitable. There are plenty of means and methods to normalize what is abnormal."
The system of heavy capital gains taxation for multiple-home owners was introduced in 2021 under Moon Jae-in, but when Yoon Suk-yeol took office, the enforcement decree was revised and the measure was suspended to "revitalize home sales," then extended annually. Currently, when multiple-home owners sell dwellings, the heavy capital gains add-on is imposed on top of the basic rate of 6%–45% as follows: ▲ in regulated areas, owners of two dwellings face an additional 20 percentage points on the basic rate ▲ owners of three or more dwellings face an additional 30 percentage points. Including the 10% local income tax, the top rate for owners of three dwellings is 82.5%.
Unlike former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who suspended the application of these add-on rates, Lee reaffirmed that there is no need to extend it further. While Lee has repeatedly said he would "not try to tame housing prices with taxes," he also said, on the premise of "cases that are truly necessary" and "fairness between nonresidential and residential use," that "if it is absolutely necessary, there is no reason not to use the taxation card."
However, he also mentioned the government's responsibility for policy confusion and said he would discuss ways to protect existing contractors from harm. Lee said, "The government is also at fault for making people believe the suspension would repeat over the past four years," and added, "For contracts signed by May 9, 2026, we will discuss in a Cabinet meeting allowing a suspension of the heavy taxation." The move is aimed at minimizing confusion from abrupt policy changes. The market sees it as encouraging "tax-saving listings" by multiple-home owners ahead of the tax suspension's sunset.
He also pledged to reform the real estate market. Comparing real estate market reform to "surgery for a serious illness," Lee said, "There will be much pain and resistance in escaping a real estate unearned-income republic hurtling toward a lost 30 years, but if it is necessary and useful, we must not avoid it." He also said, "If we endure the pain for a while, we will be healthier and make more money."