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| ▲ President Lee Jae Myung (L) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrive at Changi Airport in Singapore on March 1, 2026. (Yonhap) |
Lee-housing market
Lee steps up verbal warning against multiple home owners after listing private home for sale
By Kim Eun-jung
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday stepped up his verbal warning against owners of multiple homes, days after putting his private residence up for sale in a show of willingness to stabilize the property market.
"Whether to sell or buy a house is up to individual freedom, but the government determines whether such transactions result in profit or loss," Lee wrote on the social media platform X, just hours after arriving in Singapore to begin a four-day, two-nation trip that also includes a stop in the Philippines.
The remarks came after Lee put his private home in Seongnam, south of Seoul, up for sale at a below-market price Friday, in a show of commitment to stabilizing the property market.
Lee said there is no need to force politicians to sell their homes simply because they own multiple properties or hold houses for nonresidential purposes, reiterating the commitment to tighten regulations to curb speculative gains.
"The problem is not the people who buy up homes or choose not to sell, but that the government has created tax, financial and regulatory policies that make real estate speculation profitable," Lee said, vowing to overhaul taxation, finance and regulations so that such investments become less profitable.
He also cited Singapore's housing market as a potential model for his real estate policy.
"Singapore is a country with limited land and per capita income nearing US$100,000, yet the public does not suffer from real estate speculation nor is national development hindered by it," Lee said. "Singapore's case shows that such outcomes are entirely achievable if the government has the will to rein in real estate speculation."
The remarks by Lee were seen as the latest warning against housing speculation, as the government was set to end the temporary suspension of heavy capital gains taxes for multiple home owners in May.
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