Ending exemption on real estate-related tax part of policy normalization: presidential aide

▲ Lee Kyu-yeon, senior presidential secretary for public relations, speaks during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul in this Jan. 18, 2026, file photo. (Yonhap)

Cheong Wa Dae-real estate tax

Ending exemption on real estate-related tax part of policy normalization: presidential aide

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's decision not to extend an exemption on heavy capital gains taxes for owners of multiple homes is part of efforts to normalize policy and curb the side effect of speculative real estate investment, a senior aide said Monday.

Lee Kyu-yeon, the senior presidential secretary for public relations, made the remarks in an interview with a YouTube channel, as outcry from multiple home owners about an end to the tax exemption has increased ahead of its May 9 expiry.

The temporary exemption was introduced in May 2022 as part of efforts to stimulate the real estate market and had been extended annually before Lee took office in June last year.

"This is not an announcement of a new tax hike," secretary Lee said in the interview. "President Lee believes the exemption could be extended for one or two years if necessary, but an automatic extension is not a normal policy approach."

Currently, capital gains taxes on real estate sales range from 6 to 45 percent. Owners of two homes in areas designated as speculative zones face an additional 20 percentage points, while those with three homes are subject to a 30 percentage-point surcharge on top of the basic rate.

Lee said the president has frequently warned that excessive real estate speculation could undermine a country's economic foundations, citing concerns about repeating the experience of "Japan's lost three decades." It refers to a prolonged period of economic stagnation in Japan following the collapse of a massive asset price bubble in the early 1990s.

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