Kyungsillyeon Criticizes Democratic Party's Double Standards: "One in Four Members Own Multiple Homes"
Democratic Party Lawmakers with Multiple Homes Explain "Put Up for Quick Sale"
No Young-min's "Gangnam Apartment Is Minor" Controversy... Internal Party Criticism
The government is promoting a plan to increase taxes on multi-homeowners and short-term speculative traders to stabilize real estate prices. The photo shows an apartment complex in Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 5th./Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As the government and ruling party are set to announce measures to address real estate issues, a survey on the housing ownership status of National Assembly members revealed that nearly half of the 21st National Assembly members own multiple houses, sparking criticism.
In particular, since the Democratic Party of Korea pledged to dispose of houses during the general election, there are calls for disciplinary action against members who have not kept this promise.
According to one survey, about half of the 21st National Assembly members were found to be multi-homeowners. Their real estate assets were also confirmed to be higher than the national average.
On the 7th, according to the "Analysis of Declared Assets of the 21st National Assembly Members" by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), the average real estate assets per lawmaker amounted to 1.53 billion KRW (based on declared public prices), exceeding the national average of 300 million KRW by five times.
The survey found that out of 300 lawmakers, 250 (83%) owned homes, and among them, 88 (29%) owned two or more houses. Sixteen lawmakers (9 from the Democratic Party, 5 from the United Future Party) owned three or more houses.
The issue does not end there. Controversy arose when Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Noh Young-min, who criticized multi-homeownership among high-ranking officials, decided to sell his house in Cheongju, Chungbuk, instead of his apartment in Banpo, Seoul.
Regarding this, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Nak-yeon, who declared his candidacy for party leader, appeared on JTBC Newsroom on the 7th and said, "I hope Secretary Noh sells his house in Gangnam," adding, "Even though his son has been living there for over ten years, it would be better to dispose of it."
Democratic Party floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon also pointed out in a recent SBS '8 News' interview, "From the public's perspective, there is room for criticism."
As the controversy continued, Secretary Noh stated, "I have decided to dispose of the apartment in Seoul within this month," but the debate has not subsided. On the 8th, he explained on his Facebook, "The apartment in Seoul is occupied by my family, and the Cheongju apartment had been vacant for years while serving as ambassador and secretary, which was taken into consideration."
The public's view of multi-homeowners is cold. During the general election, Democratic Party lawmakers signed pledges to sell houses if they owned two or more in speculative overheated zones, but they have been criticized for not keeping these promises.
A 27-year-old office worker A said, "The government announced measures to strengthen taxes on multi-homeowners, yet lawmakers owning three to four houses is absurd," adding, "It's blatant hypocrisy. The promise to sell houses now seems like a show. They should be more honest than ordinary citizens. There should be a law that limits lawmakers to owning only one house."
Another office worker B, aged 31, said, "Many ordinary people cannot afford even one house despite working their whole lives. How can people who don't understand the pain of ordinary citizens be lawmakers?" adding, "Owning houses for profit without actually living in them is wrong. The ruling party has taken a critical stance on multi-homeownership but is now betraying that. Disciplinary action should be taken against lawmakers who broke their promises."
Activists from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice are holding a performance on the morning of the 7th in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, urging Democratic Party lawmakers who own multiple houses to dispose of their properties. Photo by Yonhap News
Civil society groups have also urged politicians and high-ranking government officials to sell their houses. The CCEJ demanded that multi-homeowner lawmakers immediately dispose of real estate not used for actual residence.
The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy announced that it has launched an urgent petition campaign targeting high-ranking officials to sell houses not used for residence within a month.
The People's Solidarity stated, "Among members of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Strategy and Finance Committee, 30% (17 out of 56) are multi-homeowners," emphasizing, "Those responsible for real estate taxation and housing legislation must sell houses held for purposes other than residence to ensure fair job performance." They added, "If they do not sell, they should be transferred to other committees according to the Public Officials Ethics Act's conflict of interest prevention obligations."
As the controversy continued, Democratic Party lawmakers who own multiple houses have consecutively announced their intentions to sell.
Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok is known to have sold his house in Seo-gu, Daejeon after the last general election and currently owns only an apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul. His office explained regarding the CCEJ announcement, "The Seocho-gu apartment has been owned since before becoming a reporter and has been the primary residence for 40 years. This apartment is under a redevelopment management period, so it cannot be sold for three years," adding, "He is currently renting in Seo-gu, Daejeon."
Lawmaker Lim Jong-seong, who owns four houses including two in Gangnam and two in the metropolitan area, said, "All four houses have been listed for sale below market price for some time, but have not yet been sold."
Lawmaker Kim Ju-young, who owns two houses outside Gangnam and one in the metropolitan area, emphasized, "I bought a house in Ilsan for actual residence and put the house in Gangseo-gu, Seoul up for sale, but it has not sold for over two years and the price has dropped by more than 100 million KRW," adding, "I also put up an officetel purchased for a personal office for sale."
As the controversy over multi-homeownership among Blue House and government high-ranking officials continues, the Democratic Party is reportedly conducting a full survey on real estate ownership and sales among all lawmakers.
Criticism is also coming from within the political sphere. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk posted on his social network service (SNS) urging lawmakers and high-ranking officials to sell houses not used for actual residence.
Kim said, "Stabilizing housing prices and restoring public trust in 'real estate policy' is an urgent and pressing task," adding, "There is no room to accept excuses like 'the market is frozen, so I want to sell but cannot.' If listed as a quick sale, the market will absorb it. There are also urgent quick sales," and urged, "Future real estate policies should be discussed more carefully and quickly, but first, let's sell multi-home real estate owned by lawmakers and high-ranking officials from both ruling and opposition parties. Let's sell immediately."
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan also appeared on tbs radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and said, "It is very problematic for multi-homeowners in the Ministry of Strategy and Finance or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to be in charge of real estate policy," emphasizing, "High-ranking officials must take the lead with strong will."
Meanwhile, plans are underway to impose punitive-level taxes on multi-homeowners owning two or three or more houses and speculative traders who buy and sell within one to two years. The government and ruling party aim to pass the legislation in the July National Assembly session, pursuing the fastest route through 'lawmaker legislation.'
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Democratic Party on the 5th, the government and ruling party plan to submit amendments to the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax and Capital Gains Tax laws to the National Assembly.
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