President Lee: "Escaping the Real Estate Republic Is a National Task... Household Loan Adjustment and Tax Reform"

“Promise to End the Era of Real Estate Speculation”

President Lee Jae-myung stated on October 5 that “South Korea will pursue top-level household loan restructuring and tax reforms in line with tax justice to address real estate issues.”

On this day, President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Even if the situation is difficult right now, we cannot allow South Korea to enter a lost 30 years as a consequence of passing around the real estate bubble.” He emphasized, “Escaping the ‘real estate republic’ is a national task for Korea,” and pledged, “The Lee Jae-myung administration will fulfill its promise to break away from speculation-driven real estate policies.”

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Senior Secretaries Meeting held at the Blue House on October 1, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee analyzed, “The sharp decline in construction permits centered in Seoul from 2022 to 2025, which led to a significant reduction in housing supply with a time lag, is the main cause of short-term instability in home prices.” He added, “Mid- to long-term factors include population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, excessive loans that encourage housing speculation, and unfair tax systems.”

However, President Lee explained that “Since this administration took office, there has been a sharp increase in permits and construction starts, and new residential land development as well as the conversion of existing land and buildings to residential use are accelerating, so supply will soon increase significantly.” He promised to mitigate excessive population concentration in the metropolitan area through balanced development, such as relocating administrative agencies and public institutions to the provinces. He also pledged to utilize excess tax revenues to rapidly and massively provide long-term public rental housing for youths and the middle class.

In addition, President Lee noted, “South Korea has a very high proportion of real estate assets and a large amount of household debt by global standards.” He advised, “Please pay close attention to the flow of funds shifting toward productive finance and trends in international benchmark interest rates.”

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