Choi Eun-seok, a lawmaker of the People Power Party representing Daegu's Dong-gu and Gunwi-gun A district, on Sunday introduced a partial amendment to the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act as its lead sponsor. The bill would grant a 100% exemption from acquisition tax when people relocate to depopulated areas or areas of depopulation concern and acquire a home there, aiming to encourage a genuine inflow of population into such regions. The measure is expected to significantly ease the initial housing costs for people seeking to return to farming or rural life.
Under current law, homeless individuals or single-home households who acquire a home in depopulated areas receive a 25% reduction in acquisition tax. The reduction amounts to up to 750,000 won, or up to 1.5 million won including additional reductions under local ordinances.
However, critics have pointed out that the current system applies not only to those who actually relocate to and settle in depopulated areas, but equally to home acquisitions by people already residing in such areas. The scale of the reduction is also small, limiting its effectiveness in drawing population from other regions.
In response, Choi's amendment substantially expands tax support, granting a 100% exemption from acquisition tax (up to 2.8 million won) when a homeless individual or single-home household registered as a resident outside a depopulated area at the time of acquisition relocates to such an area and acquires or builds a home there.
Choi also introduced a partial amendment to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, which would extend by two years the current tax exemption that eases capital gains tax and comprehensive real estate tax burdens by excluding homes acquired in depopulated areas from the count of homes owned. If the amendment passes, the application period would be extended from the end of 2026 to December 31, 2028. Choi said this would secure the continuity of the tax benefits.
"The current system grants the same benefits to existing residents regardless of whether they actually relocate, which has limited its ability to promote a true inflow of population," Choi said. "To overcome the national crisis of regional extinction, we must concentrate policy support more heavily on people who actually move to and put down roots in rural areas."
