President Lee Jae-myung conducted a real-time public opinion poll on the burden of owning high-value homes during a Cabinet meeting on July 14. The poll utilized the comment feature of a YouTube live stream.
He stated that the primary goal of the upcoming real estate tax reform, expected to be announced by the end of this month, is to normalize the tax system.
During the meeting at the Blue House, after receiving a report on the 'Public Opinion Collection Plan on Real Estate Policy,' President Lee remarked, "Everyone agrees that those who own a single home for actual residence should not suffer. However, there is controversy over whether it is appropriate to impose the same burden on high-value homes, such as those worth over 10 billion won or the so-called 'one good house.'"
He then suggested that viewers of the live stream indicate their opinions by pressing '1' if they believe high-value homes should face greater burdens, and '2' if they disagree.
Shortly after, Lim Gi-geun, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, reported that "most comments were '1', with about 90% in favor." In response, President Lee noted, "It seems there is general agreement on strengthening the burden on high-value homes, even for those who own a single residence."
President Lee also proposed a survey on what amount should classify a home as high-value, asking viewers to press '1' for homes over 1 billion won, '2' for over 2 billion won, and '3' for over 3 billion won.
When Lim reported that many viewers indicated 3 billion won as the threshold, President Lee jokingly asked, "Isn't that too harsh? At a market value of 3 billion won, isn't the official price only about 1 billion won?"
When Kim Yong-beom, head of the Policy Office, mentioned that many responded with 2 billion won, President Lee laughed again, saying, "If we set it at 2 billion won, we might be in big trouble."
Regarding the discussion on real estate tax, President Lee emphasized, "It is not true that we are imposing taxes to control housing prices. The most important thing is equitable taxation, and controlling housing prices is a secondary effect."
He added, "The current tax system is significantly distorted, which has led to factors that encourage real estate speculation. Normalizing this is our primary goal."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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