President Lee Jae-myung on the 1st mentioned the end of the grace period for heavier capital gains taxes on multi-homeowners and said, "We cannot allow the country to be ruined by leaving it be just to protect without limit the unearned-income money-making of a few."
On this day, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) titled "Even after watching the country be ruined by real estate speculation, why take the side of speculators?", Lee wrote, "In the rush to make money, people bought dozens, even hundreds of homes they don't even live in, sending home prices and rents through the roof, leading young people to give up on marriage and pushing the country to the brink of disappearing because of lower births. Is it so unfair to levy some taxes on money earned that way?"
Sharing a news article titled "A bolt from the blue: 'Pay back 800 million if you earn 1 billion'... A market in chaos, 10 side effects of multi-homeowner regulations," Lee pushed back, saying, "A bolt from the blue? If you want to take issue with something, it should be real estate speculation itself, and the unfairness of having missed the opportunities provided for as long as four years and now asking again for a tax cut extension. What is the reason for criticizing it as a bolt from the blue now, when the heavier tax was set to take effect four years ago and the law for heavier taxation was made long before that?"
He went on, "To avoid heavier taxation, the enforcement decree was revised so you could fully enjoy gains that rose by dozens or hundreds of percent, and the exemption from heavier taxation year by year has, bit by bit, already lasted nearly four years," adding, "This is not a forced sale, and as taxes are levied more heavily on gains that harm the public interest and are not all that desirable, it seems sufficient that an opportunity to avoid them was given for as long as four years."
Lee said, "It is not something to criticize if the money-making is done within the system, but we cannot allow the country to be ruined by leaving it be just to protect without limit the unearned-income money-making of a few," adding, "I would appreciate it if people would at least refrain from defending nation-wrecking speculation or 'bashing the government.'"
Lee said, "This is not something this government suddenly created now, but something made long ago with implementation deferred, and the end on May 9, 2026 was announced since last year," adding, "Do not try to unfairly beat the government by calling it a bolt from the blue, and please make good use of the opportunity our society has given for relief from heavier taxation."
Over the weekend between Jan. 31 and this day, Lee posted three times on X solely about curbing real estate speculation, signaling his intent to normalize the real estate market.