Hong Junpyo: "Jointly Owned Homes as Two Residences? Outlandish Move... Lee's Approval Ratings Will Plummet"

Targeting Real Estate Tax Reform Controversy
Criticism Also Leveled at Abolishing Prosecution Service and Establishing Korea Military Academy

Former Mayor of Daegu Hong Junpyo strongly criticized President Lee Jae-myung's administration for its real estate tax reforms, the restructuring of the prosecution, and the planned unification of the military academies, arguing, "All of these will cause President Lee Jae-myung's approval ratings to plummet."

On August 11, Hong posted on his social networking site (SNS), "When did the government encourage jointly owned homes for couples, and now it is making the outlandish suggestion that such homes be considered as two homes for one household." He criticized the government's recently announced real estate tax reform plan.

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. Hong Joon-pyo Facebook

He went on to say, "The officially assessed land price is usually about 60% of the market price, but now the plan is to raise it to 80% and throw a tax bomb, effectively adopting the failed Moon Jae-in-era real estate tax policy," adding, "The recently announced real estate tax plan demonstrates a complete policy mess." However, the "60% to 80%" figure cited by Hong is not about raising the market reflectivity rate of assessed housing prices to 80%. The government's 2026 tax reform plan includes a gradual increase of the fair market value ratio, which is used to calculate the comprehensive real estate tax base, from the current 60% to a higher percentage in stages.

As the government announced a real estate tax reform plan intensifying the tax burden on ultra-luxury homes, non-residential single homes, and multiple homeowners, confusion is spreading in the market. On the 11th, a "quick sale" flyer was posted at a real estate office in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

After his comments on real estate, Hong also criticized the government's prosecution restructuring. He stated, "Not content with abolishing the prosecution, which has an 80-year tradition, simply because it allegedly oppressed him, the government is now completely stripping prosecutors of their investigative powers." Under the government’s prosecution reform, the existing Prosecutors’ Office will be abolished on October 2, and prosecution affairs will be managed by a new Prosecution Service and Major Crime Investigation Agency. The related Prosecution Service Act and Major Crime Investigation Agency Act passed the National Assembly in March and have been approved by the Cabinet.

The core of the reform is to separate the investigative and prosecutorial functions. The Prosecution Service, under the Ministry of Justice, will handle indictment and the maintenance of prosecution, while the Major Crime Investigation Agency, under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, will be responsible for investigating major crimes such as corruption, economic crimes, defense industry crimes, drug-related crimes, treason, foreign exchange crimes, and cybercrimes. The plan is to strip the Prosecution Service prosecutors of direct investigative authority, splitting the powers previously held by the Prosecutors’ Office into separate agencies.

In addition, Hong addressed the government's push to unify the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. He said, "By pushing for the integration of the three academies under the pretext of preventing a coup, the administration is weakening the Army Academy." Last month, the government released a proposal to establish a "Korea Military Academy" in Jaun-dae, Daejeon, by merging the existing Army, Navy, and Air Force academies.

Defense Minister An Gyu-baek is speaking at the party-government consultation on fostering a smart strong military and the establishment plan of the Korea Military Academy held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 16th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Under the current plan, cadets from the Army, Navy, and Air Force would live on the same campus, receiving joint education in artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-domain operations during their first and second years, before moving on to service-specific training in their third and fourth years. The government explains that this restructured education system is intended to strengthen joint capabilities among the armed forces and to respond to the environments of modern and future warfare. Specific selection criteria and the implementation schedule will be finalized after further public discussion.

On the other hand, alumni associations, some military elders, and opposition parties are objecting, arguing that the unique characteristics and expertise of each service may be diminished. The combined alumni association of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies issued a joint statement last month demanding withdrawal of the integration plan. Hong described such policies as measures that "will cause President Lee Jae-myung's approval ratings to plummet." He further commented, "If those in power wield authority arbitrarily simply because they have it, they will become unhappy leaders. If the administration drifts away from public sentiment, the regime will always collapse."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.