President Lee Jae-myung emphasized on Sunday that "buying and selling homes is individual freedom, but whether it becomes profit or loss is determined by the government."
President Lee, on a state visit to Singapore, posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating "If you don't want to sell, just keep them."
"There's no need for politicians to force people to sell or not buy just because they own multiple homes or non-residential properties," President Lee said. "There's no need to talk about moral obligations like 'high-ranking officials should sell first.'"
He continued: "In a capitalist society, people accumulate houses because it's profitable. If it weren't profitable, no amount of begging would make people buy homes they won't live in."
"The problem isn't people who accumulate houses or refuse to sell," President Lee said. "It's that the government created tax, financial, and regulatory systems that made buying profitable. Ultimately, speculation isn't the fault of speculators but of politicians and governments that made speculation possible."
He added: "Of course, politicians who create such systems for speculative gains and then exploit them would truly be bad people."
President Lee noted that if tax, financial, and regulatory systems were designed to make real estate speculation impossible—where owning multiple homes or ultra-expensive properties incurred burdens matching their social costs rather than economic benefits—speculation would not occur.
"Encouraging sales of multiple homes or non-residential investment properties isn't about demanding moral obligations," he explained. "It's about giving those who profited by trusting past government failures or negligence a chance to avoid harm without sudden impact. This also reduces social costs."
He emphasized the government would "thoroughly design taxes, finance, and regulations so that past choices become losses going forward" and implement them "without wavering despite any unjust resistance or criticism."
Citing Singapore, where he arrived Sunday, President Lee said: "Despite limited land and per capita income near $100,000, citizens don't suffer from real estate speculation and national development isn't hindered. This shows it's entirely possible with government will."
"Housing speculation robs young people of hope and ruins the nation," President Lee said. "I believe the sovereign people gave me the duty and authority to correct this nation-ruining speculation. As a loyal servant of the sovereign people, I will decisively resolve this destructive speculation according to their mandate."
He reiterated: "Making choices against government policy and distrust of government policy never profitable is this government's success and the path to a normal society."