Lee steps up resolve to stabilize housing prices

▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Feb. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-housing prices

Lee steps up resolve to stabilize housing prices

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday stepped up his resolve to stabilize home prices, saying that people suffering from a jump in housing prices should get more consideration than owners of multiple homes.

In recent weeks, Lee has delivered almost daily messages on his social media platform to cool home prices, as the government is set to end an exemption from heavy capital gains tax for multi-homeowners in May.

In the latest message, Lee shared on X a link to a newspaper editorial highlighting the difficulties faced by multi-homeowners seeking to sell their properties before May 9, when the tax breaks are set to expire.

Pointing out that the temporary exemption has been expected to expire each year since its introduction in 2022, Lee said responsibility for any resulting tax burden rests with multiple homeowners who failed to prepare for the possibility that the exemption would end.

"People struggling with soaring housing prices deserve greater attention than multiple homeowners who unfairly expect that (the exemption) will be extended again while engaging in speculative real estate investment," Lee wrote.

The remarks marked the latest in a series of Lee's warnings against real estate speculation posted on his social media platform since late January.

During Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said the government would consider granting a grace period of three to six months for transactions completed before the May deadline to encourage multiple homeowners to sell their properties and reduce the impact of heavy capital gains taxes, which can reach up to 75 percent when surcharges are added to base rates.

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