President Lee: “Switching to a single ‘smart’ home? If it’s not for living in, it’s better not to do it”

According to Financial News, President Lee Jae-myung warned on the 5th, saying, "Switching to a single ‘smart’ home? Let me be clear: if it is not for residential use, it will be in your interest not to do even that."
In the early hours of the same day, President Lee shared on social media (SNS) a news article titled "Signing contracts without even seeing the house, one-home owners stirring after pressure on multiple-home owners," and made these remarks.
His comment is being interpreted as a renewed emphasis on his determination to stabilize housing prices, while signaling that a range of policy tools could be considered.
Earlier, President Lee had mentioned the possibility of revising rules for non-resident single-home owners. On March 23, he wrote on social media about the long-term holding special deduction, saying, "Not only for multiple-home owners but even for those with a single home, if the property is for investment or speculation rather than for living in, it seems strange to grant tax reductions just because it has been held for a long time." He criticized the system, adding, "This effectively blocks properties from coming onto the market and encourages speculation."
He went on, "Even among single-home owners, situations differ. If we are inevitably to revise the tax system, wouldn’t it be fair to treat non-residential and residential properties differently?" He added, "We are not going to change the tax code immediately, but these are issues that deserve public debate."
Recently, President Lee has been expressing his commitment to stabilizing the real estate market on an almost daily basis. On the 4th, he attached an editorial pointing out that multiple-home owners with tenants in properties located in a Land Transaction Permit Zone would find it difficult to sell before the end of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains tax, which expires on May 9. He stated, "Rather than multiple-home owners who invest and speculate in real estate while harboring the unjustified expectation that the grace period will ‘surely be extended again,’ it is the people suffering from soaring housing prices who deserve greater consideration."
He stressed, "This expiration has been scheduled every year since four years ago, so isn’t it the responsibility of multiple-home owners if they failed to prepare?"
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter