Non-Resident Single Homeowner with 4.3 Billion Won Property to Pay 4.29 Million Won More in Real Estate Tax Next Year

Ministry of Strategy and Finance Reveals in Materials for Ministerial Hearing

Nominee Lee Hyungil Stayed Only 4 Months in Gwacheon Apartment

"Due to Relocation to Sejong City... Difficult to Label as Speculation"

The government has projected that next year's comprehensive real estate holding tax for a non-resident single household owning an apartment valued at 4.3 billion won on the market will increase by approximately 4.29 million won compared to this year.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance made this estimate in materials submitted to the National Assembly for the confirmation hearing of Lee Hyungil, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, scheduled for the 15th.

"For a 4.3 Billion Won Apartment, Next Year's Comprehensive Real Estate Tax: 12.03 Million Won"

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, under the current system, the comprehensive real estate holding tax for a non-resident single homeowner whose home is publicly assessed at 3 billion won (market value around 4.3 billion won) would be 7.747 million won. However, if the tax reform bill submitted by the government to the National Assembly is finalized and enacted, next year's tax amount would rise to 12.038 million won. This represents an increase of about 4.291 million won compared to this year.

Lee Hyung-il, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy nominee, is arriving at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

If the tax reform plan originally announced on the 3rd of last month had been implemented as is, the calculated tax for next year would have reached 15.365 million won. However, because the proposed revision to lower the basic deduction for non-resident single homeowners to 900 million won was withdrawn, and instead maintained at the current 1.2 billion won, the calculated tax amount was reduced by 3.327 million won compared to the original proposal.

In addition, for an apartment with a publicly assessed value of 1.5 billion won (market value around 2.2 billion won), the comprehensive real estate tax is expected to rise from 691,000 won this year to 806,000 won next year. For a home assessed at 2 billion won (market value around 2.9 billion won), the tax is expected to increase from 2.275 million won this year to 2.774 million won next year.

However, these projections are pre-deduction figures under the assumption that the owner is under 60 years old and before the application of tax credits and the tax burden cap (150%), meaning the actual tax liability could vary depending on the property price, age, and the length of ownership or residency.

Nominee Lee Hyungil: Only 4 Months of Residence in Gwacheon Apartment Over 17 Years of Ownership

Meanwhile, according to the confirmation hearing request, nominee Lee has owned an apartment in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, purchased in February 2009, for 17 years, but the total period of actual residence based on residency registration amounted to only four months. The apartment has since been demolished due to reconstruction.

Regarding the issue of actual residence, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance explained, "Since 2009, the nominee's family has moved several times due to factors such as the relocation of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (formerly the Ministry of Planning and Finance) to Sejong City."

When asked whether the policy of imposing tax disadvantages on non-owner-occupied homes could be applied to the nominee's own reconstructed apartment in Gwacheon, the ministry responded, "According to the government proposal submitted to the National Assembly, it would be difficult to recognize non-resident periods as periods of residence."

On the other hand, when asked if holding a reconstructed home without actual residence for an extended period could be considered speculative investment, the ministry stated, "It is difficult to conclusively label it as speculative just because there was no actual residence," emphasizing a cautious stance.

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