"I have no home now": President Lee’s Bundang apartment sold... Blue House says it will be completed soon

[Financial News] The sale process for the apartment in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, jointly owned by President Lee Jae Myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, is expected to be completed soon. Once the main sales contract is signed, the balance is paid, and ownership is transferred, the presidential couple will no longer own a home.
A Blue House official said on the 14th that the sale of the Bundang-gu apartment owned by the presidential couple is likely to be finalized within days.
According to the Blue House, the buyer in the main contract is the same person who signed the preliminary agreement. The delay was not caused by a search for a new buyer, but by the time required to complete the land transaction permit process.
President Lee put the apartment on the market in February. At the time, the Blue House explained that although he was a one-home owner living in the property, the move was intended to show the public his commitment to normalizing the real estate market.
The Blue House had previously said the apartment was listed below the most recent transaction price and the market price at the time. According to the real estate industry, Lee’s side reportedly set the desired sale price at 2.9 billion won. Comparable units in the same complex were generally priced at 3.1 billion to 3.2 billion won, excluding lower-floor units, putting the listing 200 million to 300 million won below market.
President Lee also referred indirectly to the apartment sale during the 30th State Council meeting at the Blue House on the same day. He asked viewers of the live broadcast for their views on a proposal to impose a heavier ownership burden on ultra-high-priced homes, even if they are occupied by a single owner for residential purposes. When Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said the value of her home exceeded 2 billion won, Lee replied, "I have no home now."
He also stressed that the top priority of the real estate tax reform is not to suppress home prices, but to normalize the tax system.
President Lee noted that South Korea’s real estate taxation system is heavily distorted in the housing sector. He said too many deductions and exemptions have warped the system so much that it no longer performs its basic tax functions.
He added that because taxation has failed to serve its basic role, it has instead become a factor encouraging real estate speculation. "The first goal is not to push down home prices," he said. "The first goal is normalization."
The government plans to hold a public forum on real estate policy direction on the 23rd, chaired by President Lee, after gathering public opinions on housing supply, finance, and taxation. At the State Council meeting, Lee said, "If opinions differ, let the public first judge which argument is more reasonable, but the final decision must be made by the government leader," adding, "I will listen to as many views as possible."

west@fnnews.com Sung Seok-woo Reporter