Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said Monday that housing is "a place to live and a public good," signaling that non-residential properties would be difficult to treat the same as owner-occupied homes for tax purposes.
He added that if property holding taxes are adjusted, the government would also consider differentiating the capital gains tax burden on multi-home owners while giving them an opportunity to sell.
![Prime Minister Han Seong-sook speaks at the National Public Forum on Real Estate Policy held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/27/rcv.YNA.20260727.PYH2026072715620001301_P1.jpg)
Koo made the remarks at the National Public Forum on Real Estate Policy held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday. "We pay very close attention to housing that people actually live in, for the sake of residential stability," he said, "but there is a great deal of debate over whether those who hold homes without living in them should receive the same treatment as those who do."
He said many members of the public had expressed the view that non-residential properties should not receive the same tax benefits as owner-occupied homes. "I think it would be difficult to treat them the same as residential properties," he said.
Koo also raised the issue of tax burdens on ultra-high-priced homes. "We have received a lot of feedback that the tax burden on extremely expensive homes is too low," he said, adding that many citizens appear to question why people seek to own multiple homes.
He was careful to note, however, that the government was not pursuing punitive measures or blanket tax hikes. "We are thinking about how to ensure a fair and reasonable tax burden based on the price of a home and the purpose of ownership," he said.
"This is about rationalizing and normalizing the tax burden — not about increasing the burden on the public through taxation," he added.
Koo also outlined the direction of reforms to holding taxes and capital gains taxes. "We will take into account those living in homes of an appropriate size, but for multi-home owners who hold non-residential properties for a long time, we will consider differentiating the capital gains tax burden," he said.
On calls to guarantee multi-home owners an opportunity to sell, he said the government would "think about that together so that people do not face hardship."
Koo also said the government was considering the situation of elderly homeowners and those holding properties in regional areas. "We are thinking about how to address cases such as homes in regional areas that cannot be pre-sold and people who dispose of regional properties and move to Seoul," he said.
He said the government was also looking at tax support to expand the supply of non-apartment housing. "We are reviewing tax support measures for expanding non-apartment supply in consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport," Koo said, while noting concern that demand-side support could trigger a concentration effect.
On pre-sale rights transfers, he said the current system was in place because freely allowing such transfers "would create problems for real estate market stability and residential stability," but added that the government would look into whether any improvements were needed.
Koo doubled down on the public-good nature of housing as the guiding principle of the tax reform.
"A home is a place to live — it is a public good," he said. "There are many people living in jeonse because they do not own a home and are working hard to buy one. Holding multiple homes that you do not live in does nothing for the residential stability of the public."
"Those who have reasons to maintain multiple homes cannot be helped, but if you do not, please — beyond the home you live in — allow other citizens the chance to own a home as well," he said.
y2k@heraldcorp.com
