Koo Yun-cheol hints at partial greenbelt release and military site use for housing supply

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol hinted on the 3rd at the possibility of partially lifting greenbelt restrictions or utilizing military facilities to expand housing supply.

Appearing on KBS News on the afternoon of the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated, "To provide the maximum possible supply under the Lee Jae-myung administration, we are currently preparing comprehensive supply measures by even partially releasing greenbelts in locations such as near subway stations, and even utilizing various state-owned military facilities."

Expressing that the announcement of supply measures is imminent, he added, "We expect to be able to report to the public soon."

Explaining the tax reform plan announced that day, Koo stated that it includes measures to reduce the comprehensive real estate holding tax for primary homeowners with a market value of 3 billion won or less, and to entirely exempt homes valued at 2 billion won or less from the tax. He also noted that properties valued at 4 billion won or more, which account for 0.4% of homes, are designed to face increased taxation compared to the present.

Regarding homes with a market value of 4 billion won or more, he emphasized, "Their tax burden was too low compared to past housing prices, so we normalized it."

In response to criticism that policy credibility was undermined by including a measure in today's tax reform plan to temporarily ease heavy capital gains taxes on multiple homeowners until 2028—despite having resumed the heavy taxation on homes in regulated areas on May 10—he explained, "There were voices from multiple homeowners asking what they should do if taxes keep going up with continuous heavy taxation, so we granted a grace period by reflecting public opinion."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.