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S. Korea Bans Multiple Home Owners From Real Estate Policy Decisions

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered the exclusion of owners of multiple homes, expensive vacant properties, or excessive real estate holdings from participating in the creation and approval of housing policies. He declared that escaping a "real estate republic" is central to national transformation, demanding zero flaws in property policy. The move targets public officials who designed or exploited systems favorable to speculative investment, stating they deserve criticism and sanctions. The administration is demonstrating its commitment by resuming heavy capital gains taxes in May and the President selling his own home below market price.

Key Points: S. Korea Excludes Multiple Home Owners From Property Policymaking

  • Crackdown on housing speculation
  • Exclusion from policy roles
  • Critique of flawed systems
  • Capital gains tax resumption
2 min read

S. Korea excludes officials with multiple homes from real estate policymaking

President Lee Jae Myung orders officials with multiple or expensive homes excluded from real estate policy formulation to curb speculation.

"Escaping the real estate republic is a central task for the grand transformation of the Republic of Korea. - Lee Jae Myung"

Seoul, March 22

President Lee Jae Myung said on Sunday he has instructed his office and the Cabinet to exclude owners of multiple homes from making real estate policies, as his administration cracks down on long-running housing speculation.

Lee shared the instruction on his X account, saying he has called for the exclusion of multiple home owners, expensive home owners who do not live in them and owners of "excessive" properties from the discussion, formulation, reporting and approval of home and real estate policies.

"Escaping the real estate republic is a central task for the grand transformation of the Republic of Korea," he wrote. "There cannot be even a 0.1 percent flaw or hole when it comes to real estate or home policies."

Lee has made it a key goal of his administration to tackle speculative home ownership, stabilise the property market and increase public access to homes, reports Yonhap news agency

In his post, he said there is no reason to criticise multiple home owners or expensive home owners per se, but that the problem lies in the public officials who devised tax, banking and regulatory systems to make multiple home ownership favourable.

"If the public officials who created or turned a blind eye to these systems abuse these flawed systems to make speculative investments, it would only be right for them to not only receive criticism, but also sanctions," he said. "Wouldn't it be proper for them to be excluded from real estate policies even now?"

Lee has sought to demonstrate his commitment to tackling the real estate issue by putting his private home up for sale at a below-market price.

The government is also set to end the temporary suspension of heavy capital gains taxes in May.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Interesting concept. But how do you define "excessive" properties? In a country like India with joint families, one property might be in a parent's name, another for investment. The devil is in the details. Still, the intent to reduce conflict of interest is good.
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Rohit P
Finally! Someone gets it. You can't have the fox guarding the hen house. Our real estate policies in metros are a mess because the people making them are often the biggest investors. We need this transparency here. Salute to President Lee for leading by example and selling his own house.
S
Sarah B
While the principle is sound, I worry about implementation. Would this exclude talented officials with genuine expertise? In a country like India, where property is a primary savings vehicle for the middle class, this could disqualify many capable people. The focus should be on transparency of assets, not blanket bans.
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Vikram M
"Escaping the real estate republic" – what a powerful phrase. In our cities, buying a home feels like a distant dream for young professionals. If our leaders showed half this commitment, maybe the dream wouldn't be so far. Hope this sets a global example.
K
Karthik V
The part about officials who "turned a blind eye" hits home. So many loopholes in our tax systems exist because it benefits a certain class. This policy tackles the root cause, not just the symptom. More countries should adopt this. Jai Hind!

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