President Lee Jae-myung hints at changes in real estate policy by comparing overseas property taxes.

President Lee Jae-myung shared an article comparing property taxes in major cities abroad with those in Korea, revealing his personal concern. Given that President Lee has recently emphasized that housing price stability is a major issue for maintaining his administration, his comments attracted significant attention.

On that day, President Lee posted a link on X (formerly Twitter) to an article titled “How Do Property Taxes in Major Cities of Developed Countries Compare to Our Country?” and commented, “I’m also very curious.” Experts interpret this move as emphasizing the president’s focus on international comparisons of the real estate market and domestic housing market stability.

Spokesperson Kang Yu-jin clarified that the article was simply for information sharing and explicitly stated that the government’s stance that property taxes are subject to final review remains unchanged. This is seen as a warning against some public opinions interpreting President Lee’s mention as potentially leading to policy changes.

President Lee also criticized the proposal by Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, to exclude public officials with multiple residences from the policy, and asked rhetorically, “If that’s the case, should public officials holding stocks also sell their stocks?” This can be interpreted as reflecting the president’s view that the real estate market and stock market should not be treated equally.

Comparisons of property taxes across countries are linked to domestic and international economic conditions such as inflation and housing market instability, and may continue to influence market stability and policy changes in the future.