Real estate tax bill open to National Assembly input, deputy PM nominee says

First press briefing since Sunday nomination

'Prices more important than any other policy ... will work to announce additional measures'

Lee Hyung-il, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance who was nominated as deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, said Wednesday he would accept "reasonable points raised during the National Assembly's deliberation process" on real estate tax legislation.

Meeting with reporters at Government Complex Sejong for the first time since his nomination on Sunday, Lee said he was "prepared to keep revising the bill while maintaining the broad policy direction, as long as there are reasonable and valid points to incorporate."

Lee Hyung-il, nominated as deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, holds a press briefing for reporters at Government Complex Sejong on Wednesday. [Ministry of Economy and Finance]

Lee said the real estate tax overhaul was announced with the goal of building a housing market centered on owner-occupiers, and that the government had sought to scale back what it viewed as excessive tax benefits. He added that the latest revision came after market feedback that the gap between owner-occupiers and non-residents had been too wide, leading the government to ease the differential while still maintaining a distinction.

"We drew the line at 1.4 billion won versus 1.2 billion won," he said, adding that if further discussions take place in the National Assembly, "there is a plan to reflect reasonable points where necessary."

On housing prices, Lee said the government's approach was to "increase supply so that people can find homes more easily," adding there was "no reason to rule out tax or financial measures if they can help boost housing supply."

Lee said prices were "always the top mission of the economic authorities," describing them as "the foundation of people's livelihoods and the starting point of polarization — more important than anything else."

He said the government had already announced chuseok measures but that there was more to consider. "I will look for new things we can do — whether that means increasing supply around chuseok or offering deeper discounts — and announce them," he said, noting he remained in his current vice minister role in the meantime.

President Lee Jae Myung had told the nominee at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he could rescind the nomination if chuseok prices were not brought under control.

Lee also said the first year and three months since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office had been "a time of recovery and normalization," adding that the economy had quickly shaken off the shock of martial law and that 3 percent growth this year — the first time in five years — was increasingly within reach.

"Per capita national income has exceeded $30,000 for the first time in eight years, and we are now looking toward $40,000," he said, adding that it was time to "take on a new challenge toward an irreplaceable Korea, building on the achievements so far."

Lee said he would work to accelerate the economy's growth momentum and consolidate a rebound in potential growth. He pledged to fast-track three major mega-projects to generate large-scale investment and new growth engines, develop regions as new growth hubs, and expand preemptive investment in advanced future technology.

He also vowed to focus policy efforts on reducing polarization and stabilizing livelihoods so that the benefits of growth would be shared broadly. Drawing on policy room secured through the semiconductor boom and other gains, he said the government would boldly support vulnerable sectors — including youth, small business owners and small and medium-sized enterprises — to ensure they were not left behind.

"Price stability in particular is the foundation of people's economic lives and the starting point for resolving polarization," he said. "High prices hit the vulnerable hardest, so I will treat everyday grocery prices as the economic team's report card and do everything possible to keep them stable."

Lee said he would strengthen inter-ministry cooperation to raise the speed and momentum of policy implementation once he took office as deputy prime minister. He proposed significantly expanding the pre-deliberation and coordination functions of the ministerial meeting on economic affairs, and establishing a new working-level economic issues forum — a tentative name — where ministers from related ministries and Cheong Wa Dae officials would gather in small groups on an ad hoc basis to closely coordinate on contentious, high-impact issues.

"I will carry a heavy sense of responsibility and mission to ensure this new challenge toward an irreplaceable Korea succeeds," he said, adding that he would listen more closely to the public and reflect their voices more carefully at every stage from policy design to implementation.

Lee graduated from Gyeongsan High School in Daegu and Seoul National University with a degree in economics, and earned a doctorate in economics from Texas A&M University. He entered public service in 1992 through the 36th administrative examination and has held posts including director of the fund markets division, economic analysis division and comprehensive policy division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He also served as a senior economist at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, economic policy secretary at Cheong Wa Dae under the Moon Jae-in administration, and commissioner of Statistics Korea, before taking on the role of first vice minister of economy and finance under the Lee Jae Myung administration. A career economic official with broad experience in macroeconomics and financial policy, he has been recognized within the ministry for his communication and coordination skills — having been voted "the boss I most want to emulate" by staff on three separate occasions.

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