Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, said, "As we introduced the single-stock leverage system and launched products, I regret that we failed to properly anticipate what products would be created and what impact they would have."
On the 29th, Koo answered this way during a briefing to the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, responding to a question from Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party, who said, "As the economic control tower, there should be an expression of regret over the current situation of heightened stock volatility."
Koo gave a similar response to a point raised by Lee Jong-uk of the People Power Party, saying, "At the outset, we introduced it to steer money that would inevitably flow overseas into domestic investment and to reduce risk, but if other effects have occurred as a result, I think it is right to make corrections as quickly as possible."
However, Koo drew a line between the government's "decision to introduce the system" and the "specific design of products" as separate realms. Koo said, "Regarding the system's introduction, the government approved a revision to the enforcement decree at a Cabinet meeting, but we judged that the stage of specifically building products belongs to experts, so the Ministry of Strategy and Finance did not get involved."
When Oh Ki-hyeong of the Democratic Party of Korea said that "there is a need to reconsider the product design itself, such as reducing the leverage multiple like Hong Kong," Koo replied, "Since there are questions about the product design itself, we will consult with the relevant institutions and look for ways to make improvements."
Meanwhile, regarding the "real estate tax reform plan" to be announced next week, Koo said, "For a single dwelling that is actually occupied, we will minimize the burden up to a certain price range, while normalizing the burden on high-priced dwellings above a certain level," adding, "We will impose an appropriate burden on nonresidential and multiple dwellings, but we will not pursue policies that raise the burden for most people. Please wait and see." He then reiterated, "We are not running the real estate tax system to curb home prices; the aim is to normalize transactions and stabilize the real estate market."