Ruling Party: "Strongly Urges Government to Set 'KRW 1.4 Billion Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Deduction Regardless of Owner Occupancy'"

"Property Tax and the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Are Directly Linked to the 2028 General Elections"

The Democratic Party of Korea said on Nov. 8 that it had strongly called for standardizing the basic deduction threshold for the comprehensive real estate holding tax at KRW 1.4 billion in housing value, regardless of whether the property is owner-occupied.

At a briefing at the National Assembly after the high-level ruling party-government meeting that day, Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said, "Secretary-General Han Jeong-ae proposed it, and the idea also came up during discussions among the party's Seoul-area lawmakers, so I made the proposal." The aim is to ease the tax burden and address the issue as public opinion of the government and ruling party worsens in response to opposition to their real estate policies.

Lim Gwang-hyun, chief of staff to the president, speaks at a high-level ruling party-government meeting held at the Prime Minister's Seoul residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

"If this year's budget-related bills and real estate tax bills pass, property taxes on homes, property taxes on land, and the comprehensive real estate holding tax will be levied next year," Park said. "There was a view that the government should also carefully review the tax issue that matters most to public sentiment in Seoul."

Responding to some reports that the Blue House had rejected the party's request, Park said, "The party has made a strong request, so we'll have to wait and see." He emphasized, "Property taxes and the comprehensive real estate holding tax are directly linked to the 2028 general election, so lawmakers are very interested in these issues."

Asked whether another high-level ruling party-government meeting would be held to discuss a real estate tax reform plan, he replied, "I don't think there will be another high-level ruling party-government meeting," adding, "It is unclear how the proposal will be included when the budget-related bills are passed, but the party has once again made its position clear."

In its initial tax reform plan, the government set different comprehensive real estate holding tax deduction thresholds for owners of one home: KRW 1.4 billion for owner-occupied homes and KRW 900 million for homes that are not owner-occupied. However, following a request from the Democratic Party leadership, which was concerned about a public backlash over the increased tax burden, the government submitted a proposal to the National Assembly setting the basic deduction at KRW 1.4 billion for owner-occupied homes and KRW 1.2 billion for homes that are not owner-occupied.

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