President Lee Jae-myung on the 14th held a "surprise poll" in the YouTube live-stream comment section during a Cabinet meeting regarding "strengthening the holding tax on ultra-high-priced dwellings." As the government seeks ways to stabilize real estate, the thrust is that even for owner-occupied single dwellings, the burden of holding should be strengthened for "ultra-high-priced" dwellings. In particular, while asking for opinions in the comments on where to set the threshold for ultra-high-priced, he also said, "3 billion won is too harsh." Cheong Wa Dae said it will gather public opinion through real estate forums by each ministry in the future and reflect it in policy.
After receiving a report from Koo Yun-cheol, deputy prime minister for the economy and finance minister, on various real estate tax issues, the president said, "There is broad agreement with the idea that owner-occupied single dwellings should not suffer (a burden of holding), but there is controversy over whether it is right to also grant relief for the so-called 'smart one unit,' an ultra-high-priced home," adding, "People watching the (KTV live) broadcast now, let's try pressing 1 or 2."
It meant asking people to write 1 in the comment section if they support strengthening the holding burden on ultra-high-priced dwellings even if actually occupied, and 2 if they oppose. When Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Lim Gi-geun said, "Ninety percent of the comments are 1," the president said, "There seems to be general agreement that even if ultra-high-priced dwellings are owner-occupied single dwellings, we should strengthen the holding tax. I wanted to give advance notice that we might proceed (with tax reform) in this way."
The "threshold for ultra-high-priced dwellings" was also put to a poll. The president suggested commenters write the leading digit between 1 billion won and 9 billion won in the comment section. When Deputy Minister Lim explained, "Most people wrote 3 billion won," the president said, "About 3 billion won seems too harsh," adding, "If it is 3 billion won, under the current officially assessed basis it is only in the 1 billion won range, isn't it? On a taxable basis it would be in the ten-something billion won range." Regarding comments that answered "2 billion won," the president also laughed, saying, "If we do that, we (Cheong Wa Dae staff, Cabinet) might be in big trouble."
Cheong Wa Dae plans to gather public opinion, including on the "holding burden for ultra-high-priced dwellings," by the competent ministries going forward. Starting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on the 14th, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) on the 15th and the Finance Ministry on the 16th will each hold separate forums on real estate supply, finance and taxes, respectively, and then at the "national grand debate on real estate policy" on the 23rd, which the president will attend in person, opinions will be compiled and reflected in policy.
The president said, "The real estate tax system is not about trying to suppress home prices," adding, "Fairness in taxes is the most important, but in the dwellings field the tax system has been greatly distorted and altered, so it is failing to perform the basic functions of taxes, which is the problem." He continued, "That has become a factor that fuels real estate speculation, so normalization is needed," adding, "The primary goal of taxes is market normalization, and secondarily we aim to mitigate speculation and side effects. Please understand that."