President Lee inspects real estate and stocks immediately upon return... Tightening reins on state affairs amid falling approval ratings
- Input
- 2026-08-03 16:27:16
- Updated
- 2026-08-03 16:27:16
Immediately after his long-term trip, he went to work at the Blue House and presided over a closed-door meeting to review domestic issues, including real estate policy and the stock market, appearing to be tightening the reins on state affairs once again. President Lee returned via Seongnam Seoul Airport this morning. Starting in San Francisco, USA, on the 24th of last month, he visited three South American countries—Brazil, Chile, and Argentina—before returning via Frankfurt, Germany.
President Lee held a closed-door meeting regarding domestic issues, including real estate policy and the stock market, at Yeomingwan at 3 p. m. today.
During the tour, controversies regarding real estate tax reform, increased stock market volatility, and single-stock leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs) persisted domestically. With the announcement of the tax reform plan reportedly imminent this month, it appears President Lee personally reviewed related pending issues immediately upon his return. In the real estate sector, key items likely under review included the appropriate level of property holding tax, its relationship with transaction tax, differential taxation for owner-occupied and non-residential homes, and criteria for ultra-high-priced housing.
President Lee had previously presided over a national public debate on real estate policy on the 23rd of last month, just prior to his overseas trip, to discuss related issues. Regarding the stock market, it appears that reports were presented on the recent sharp decline in the KOSPI and the repercussions of single-stock leverage ETFs. Starting on the 31st of last month, the government implemented a supplementary measure to raise the minimum cash deposit for single-stock leverage ETFs to 30 million won.
It is also possible that the market stabilization effects and the need for additional measures were discussed. The background of this closed-door meeting held immediately after his return is interpreted to be rooted in a sense of crisis stemming from the recent decline in his approval ratings. 4 percentage points from the previous week.
This is the lowest figure since his inauguration. 5%. Of course, there are also assessments that the achievements of this overseas trip were significant.
In San Francisco, President Lee met with global big tech leaders, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to discuss cooperation plans in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors. Long-term semiconductor supply cooperation worth $950 billion between domestic companies and global big tech firms, as well as cooperation on AI data center investment, were also pursued. In South America, he held talks with the leaders of Brazil, Chile, and Argentina to discuss the supply chain for key minerals, energy, and trade agreements.
Discussions were held with Brazil and Argentina regarding the resumption of negotiations for the Korea-Mercosur trade agreement, and with Chile on measures to modernize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Cooperation on key minerals such as lithium and copper, as well as the diversification of energy import sources, were also major agenda items. President Lee will also resume live broadcasts of ministerial briefings starting on the 4th.
Briefings scheduled for the 4th include those from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Climate and Energy, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Fair Trade Commission. On the 5th, briefings will continue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Ministry of Justice. 8%.
Further details can be found on the website of the Central Election Opinion Poll Review Committee.
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter