The "end of the grace period for higher capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes" mentioned by President Lee Jae-myung was reportedly included in the agenda for the Cabinet meeting scheduled for the 27th but was dropped at the last minute on the 26th. Attention is focusing on why a matter the president directly mentioned as part of strengthening the real estate tax system was removed from the Cabinet agenda.
A government official said, "As of this morning (the 26th), it was included in the Cabinet agenda, but I was informed in the afternoon that it had been removed," adding, "I was not given a reason."
President Lee Jae-myung recently posted a series of comments on X (formerly Twitter) calling for strengthening the real estate tax system. In particular, on the 25th, he wrote, "The May 9 end of the grace period for higher capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes was already decided in Feb. last year," and "If you thought they would again push a legal amendment to extend it, that was a miscalculation."
Regarding this, Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Affairs Lee Gyu-yeon said on the 26th, "There is no way (the president's mention of strengthening the real estate tax system) was made off the cuff," adding, "He would have ordered a review by the policy office and received a report."
In political circles, there is also a view that with the June 3 local elections approaching, it will be difficult for the government to move toward strengthening the real estate tax system across the board. This is because it could become a factor in losing votes depending on the region.
A government official said, "We did review it as a Cabinet agenda item, but there were matters requiring more detailed working-level review regarding specific implementation plans, so it was excluded from tomorrow's Cabinet agenda."