On the 24th, the Blue House, regarding President Lee Jae-myung's message on a "revision of the long-term holding special deduction (hereafter long-term deduction)," said it was "a matter of principle emphasizing that even for single-household single-home owners, nonresidential or investment purposes and residential purposes must be distinguished." Reducing tax benefits for nonresidential dwellings is an issue President Lee has mentioned several times. Ending on May 9 the temporary suspension of the heavy capital gains tax on multiple-home owners is also intended to focus benefits on "actual residents" so listings come onto the market.
A Blue House official met with reporters that day and said, "It means it is important that single-household single-home owners receive favorable treatment." The official added, "The government will discuss the long-term deduction for capital gains tax, but not a single concrete method has been decided yet." The official said, "The president believes a single dwelling for residence and a single dwelling for investment should be handled entirely separately," adding, "Since the president has set out the criteria, the government is continuing discussions."
President Lee, on a state visit to Vietnam, wrote on X in the morning that day, "Where there is income, there is tax," and "We pay income tax on earned income from hard work, so it is natural to pay capital gains tax on dwelling transfer gains." He also said, "If you want to protect single-home owners, a capital gains tax reduction for actual residence periods is necessary, but cutting capital gains taxes simply because someone bought for investment without living there and held it for a long time (especially high-priced dwellings) is not a housing protection policy but a 'policy that encourages dwelling speculation.'"
Sharing some media reports that the abolition of the long-term deduction would burden homebuyers, President Lee said, "After a brief lull, it seems the forces encouraging real estate speculation are starting up again." He added, "To properly protect single-home owners' housing, it is right to reduce the deduction for nonresidential holding periods and increase the deduction by that amount for residential holding periods," and said, "Please leave your comments on what you think."