Choi Bo-yun, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party (PPP), on Monday criticized the Lee Jae-myung government's review of raising property holding taxes, saying "Seoul apartment prices surged between 80% and 119% when holding taxes were strengthened in the past," and urged the government to "prioritize sufficient supply measures first."
Choi took aim at President Lee's recent sharing of a news article on social media, calling it "behavior that stimulates market anxiety and creates fear" and "gangster-style politics targeting the public." The article in question compared holding taxes in major overseas cities and suggested that Korea's property holding tax rate is low.
Choi rebutted this by citing a report from the National Assembly Budget Office. "Korea's property holding tax as a share of total tax revenue stands at 4.9%, already well above the OECD average of 3.8%," she said. "When you add the world's highest levels of acquisition tax and capital gains tax, the public is trapped in a 'tax prison' where they can barely afford to move. Ignoring this reality and selectively citing certain overseas cases to build a justification for tax increases is a clear act of deceiving the public."
She continued, "If a property holding tax increase is truly necessary, bring it to public debate through proper policy channels — not through social media opinion manipulation." She added, "A president testing public sentiment with a single social media post is irresponsible governance that undermines trust in the administration."
Choi also cited cases where holding tax increases led to housing price surges. "The idea of controlling the market through punitive taxation has already been proven a failure," she said. "Have they forgotten the history of Seoul apartment prices surging between 80% and 119% under past administrations that strengthened holding taxes?"
"Policies that only strengthen taxes without a sufficient supply foundation will only fuel housing price instability," she stressed. "Before touching the tax system, the government should concentrate its policy capacity on swift and sufficient supply measures."
