Registration for the original 500-person session closed within a day; additional sessions set for Sept. 21 in Nonhyeon-dong and Sept. 22 in Irwon-dong, bringing the seminars closer to residents' neighborhoods
Interest among Gangnam-gu residents in the government's real estate tax overhaul has surged, driven by widespread concern over the tax burden on high-priced properties.
Gangnam-gu will hold two additional neighborhood-level tax information seminars on the Aug. 3 tax reform package after overwhelming demand forced the district to expand beyond its originally planned single session.
The move also reflects Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi's stated commitment to hear residents' concerns firsthand and relay them forcefully to the central government.
The district had originally planned a single "Real Estate Tax Information Seminar" for 500 residents on Sept. 18, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the main auditorium on the second floor of the Gangnam Community Center. Registration opened Aug. 18 and all 500 seats were filled within a day. Even after registration closed, inquiries and requests for additional sessions continued to pour in.
In response, the district decided to move away from a single large gathering and instead bring the seminars closer to where residents live. The first additional session will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at the main auditorium of the Nonhyeon 1-dong Community Cultural Center. The second will follow Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Dosan Hall in Milal School.
Each seminar will be divided into two parts. The first will be led by Yang Gyeong-seop, a senior tax accountant at Onse Tax Corporation who previously served as a tax investigator at the National Tax Service and as head of the tax team at Industrial Bank of Korea. The second part will be handled by Ko Jong-wan, who currently serves as president of the Korea Asset Management Research Institute and as a member of the Financial Services Commission's Financial Development Deliberation Committee. Drawing on their extensive experience in real estate, both speakers will use real-world cases to explain in accessible terms the key changes and practical responses under the tax reform package — with a particular focus on the comprehensive real estate holding tax and capital gains tax, the areas of greatest interest to residents.
The seminars will also give residents a detailed account of which of Gangnam-gu's policy recommendations on the Aug. 3 tax reform package were accepted and which remain unaddressed. Time will be set aside to gather residents' views on the final government tax reform bill submitted to the National Assembly on Thursday.
Residents wishing to attend may register from 9 a.m. Monday through Sept. 15 on the Gangnam-gu district office website, under "Communication & Participation → Education & Courses → Neighborhood Tax Seminar." Seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis per session. Phone registrations will not be accepted in order to reduce congestion at the office.
"The fact that a 500-seat seminar sold out in a single day shows just how much residents care about changes to real estate taxes," District Mayor Kim said. "We quickly arranged additional neighborhood-level sessions so that those who missed out can get the information close to home." He added that the district would continue to provide community-based tax services to help residents understand complex tax rules and access the information they need in a timely manner.
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