"Revise Tax Reform Completely" Proposal... Scrambling to Soothe Public Sentiment

[Anchor]

As backlash grows over the government's real estate policies, including the tax reform plan, the Democratic Party met with government officials today (August 12) for a review. They called for swift and bold supply measures, conveyed the concerns of the younger generation to the government, and moved to soothe public sentiment regarding real estate. Among the party leadership candidates, a proposal even emerged calling for a complete overhaul of the tax reform plan.

Reported by Ha Jeongyeon.

[Reporter]

The first meeting of the Democratic Party's "Housing Market Stabilization TF," established to review overall real estate policies including housing supply, taxation, and finance.

Government officials also attended, including Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won, as well as vice ministers from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

With the government scheduled to announce housing supply measures and comprehensive financial countermeasures tomorrow, the Democratic Party emphasized a "speed war in supply" through activating modular construction methods, pointing out that bottlenecks in housing supply persist in areas like Seoul and anxieties in the lease and jeonse markets are growing.

[Han Jeong-ae / Policy Committee Chair, Democratic Party: (We need) institutional improvements to increase the supply of non-apartment housing, such as urban lifestyle housing or officetels that can be supplied within a short period, and a drastic enhancement of supply speed through the introduction of modular methods.]

In the subsequent closed-door meeting, opinions were reportedly raised to specifically disclose the actual commencement dates of housing supply.

One attendee shared, "There were demands to increase market confidence by specifying details, such as how much sooner construction commencement dates can be brought forward instead of vague supply measures, and how many households will receive what kind of financial support and benefits."

Regarding the tax reform plan, the Democratic Party repeatedly conveyed concerns to the government side that deep consideration must be given to market realities, such as the circumstances where "non-resident single-home owners" inevitably cannot reside in their homes, as well as the housing anxieties of the younger generation.

[Kim Young-bae / Democratic Party Lawmaker: We have conveyed all the various voices expressing concern regarding taxation, including cases of non-resident single homes, and particularly the voices of the youth.]

There were also proposals to expand "first-time homebuyer housing purchase loans" for the younger generation and actual homebuyers, and to drastically increase the National Housing Fund for low-interest jeonse loans.

Meanwhile, Song Young-gil, a candidate running for the leadership of the Democratic Party, pointed to real estate policies as the cause of President Lee Jae-myung's declining approval ratings and conveyed public sentiment opposing the tax reform plan.

[Song Young-gil / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate (KBS Radio 'Jeon-geuk Sisa'): Real estate, the general argument is not to touch the taxes on this.]

The Democratic Party decided to hold a general meeting of lawmakers tomorrow to gather consensus on the real estate tax reform plan and housing supply measures.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Reported by Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video Edited by Nam Il | Design: Lee Ga-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.