Rival Parties Unanimously Warn of Rising Jeonse and Monthly Rent Prices Amid Concerns

[Anchor]

The National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held a session today (August 11) to discuss real estate policies. Lawmakers voiced a flood of opinions calling for revisions or supplements to government real estate policies, including the tax reform bill. In particular, both ruling and opposition lawmakers expressed concerns that increased tax burdens on "non-resident single-home owners" could drive up jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) and monthly rent prices.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the details.

[Reporter]

During the plenary session of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee this afternoon,

a significant number of ruling and opposition lawmakers expressed concerns that if the government's tax reform package strengthens tax burdens on "non-resident single-home owners," jeonse and monthly rent prices would surge as the tax burden is passed on to tenants or as more tenants are forced out.

[Kim Mi-ae / People Power Party Lawmaker: What should homeowners do who can neither live in their homes nor sell them? They might pass on the increased tax burden to rents.]

[Kang Deuk-gu / Democratic Party Lawmaker: If non-resident single-home ownership is regulated, owners must either actually reside in the house or sell it. From the perspective of tenants, situations will arise where they are forced to leave their homes.]

Regarding the point that the comprehensive real estate holding tax burden increases significantly for "non-resident single-home" properties under joint ownership by married couples, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok replied that if joint taxation is disadvantageous, taxpayers can choose to apply the special taxation provisions for single-home households.

[Kim Eun-hye / People Power Party Lawmaker: The President also encouraged marriage, so shouldn't this penalty be removed as well?]

[Kim Yoon-deok / Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: I understand that the special provision (for single-home owners) can be applied.]

There was also criticism regarding low-interest policy loans, where getting married actually lowers the combined annual income threshold, disqualifying couples from receiving loans—a so-called "marriage penalty" that needs to be fixed.

[Mo Kyeong-jong / Democratic Party Lawmaker: For newlyweds, the standard is an annual income of 85 million won or less. The standard for a single person was 60 million won, and the reality is that it is actually decreasing.]

Ruling and opposition lawmakers engaged in a blame game over the shortage of housing supply in Seoul.

[Kim Nam-geun / Democratic Party Lawmaker: (Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon) did not manage construction starts. When it's like this for all four years, how can housing supply go well?]

[Kim Jeong-jae / People Power Party Lawmaker: During the 10 years under former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, some 400 redevelopment zones were canceled.]

Minister Kim stated that he deeply regrets the recent concurrent rise in housing sales and jeonse and monthly rent prices, adding that the government will increase housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area, even if it means lifting greenbelt restrictions.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Reported by Park Chan-beom | Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.