On the 24th, President Lee Jae-myung said, "Normalizing real estate is difficult, but it is easier than clearing illegal facilities in valleys or normalizing the stock market." Following his post on X (formerly Twitter) on the 23rd of last month previewing the end of the "suspension of heavy capital gains tax on multiple-home owners" and an overhaul of the long-term holding special deduction for nonresidential dwellings, he has repeatedly delivered messages himself about normalizing home prices in the Seoul metropolitan area. This time as well, he aimed at multiple-home ownership and one nonresidential dwelling, saying, "Ownership is free, but responsibility cannot be avoided."
That morning on X, Lee said, "There is a saying not to go against the market, but there is also a saying not to go against the government," referring to the effort to clear illegal facilities in valleys when he was Gyeonggi governor. He then shared a report saying the housing price outlook consumer sentiment index (CSI) in February fell sharply from the previous month and from April last year, and said, "It is only natural that expectations that the abnormal rise in home prices will continue even under the popular sovereignty government are diminishing."
Lee said, "Power can turn a normal society into an abnormal one, but it can also turn the abnormal into the normal," adding, "Our people know that real estate, especially the apartment market in the Seoul metropolitan area, is abnormal, and they support normalizing this abnormality."
In particular, he said, "Power has powerful tools for normalization, including regulation, taxation, finance, and supply. The issue is the will and intent of power." This means the government can mobilize every available tool, including tax reform, to normalize home prices in the Seoul metropolitan area. All along, Cheong Wa Dae has said that tax hikes such as increasing property taxes are "a last resort," while also maintaining the stance that "if absolutely necessary, they can of course be used."
Lee said, "Whether you keep multiple homes, hold nonresidential investment dwellings, or own ultra-luxury dwellings costing 300 million won per pyeong, it is your freedom, but you cannot avoid the risks and responsibilities that come with normalizing the abnormal." He also said, "Whether you believe in or doubt the normalization of the Republic of Korea, and whether you resist or comply, is each person's freedom, but as with normalizing the stock market, the resulting gains and losses are also each person's share."