A Fiscal Authority's Harsh Criticism... "Telling Public Officials to Sell Their Houses Is a Show for Appearances"

Professor Lee Jung-gu "Never committed illegal acts, no reason to be criticized if taxes were paid properly"
"It's true that real estate investment is profitable... Multi-homeowners just pursued rational profits"
"The key is fair taxation... The rental business system should be gradually abolished"

Professor Lee Joon-gu, Department of Economics, Seoul National University. (Photo by Professor Lee Joon-gu's homepage)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Amid continued pressure from Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on multi-homeowner high-ranking public officials to sell their properties, Professor Emeritus Lee Joon-gu of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics pointed out that "the 'witch hunt' that treats multi-homeowners as criminals and labels them as speculators makes solving the problem even more difficult." He argued that criticizing those who seek reasonable profits and forcing them to sell their homes is a "show for appearances."

On the evening of the 9th, Professor Lee posted on his social network service (SNS) an article titled "It is not right to treat people who own multiple homes as criminals," expressing these views. Professor Lee is a progressive economist and one of the leading authorities on public finance in Korea. In his post, he stated, "If one has never committed any illegal acts in the process of owning multiple homes and has paid all due taxes punctually, there is no reason to be subject to criticism," adding, "Forcing multi-homeowner public officials to sell their extra homes will have only a negligible positive effect on our housing market." He further noted, "It is also true that there is nothing as profitable as real estate investment in our society today," and "multi-homeowners were simply pursuing rational profits."

Earlier, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun had recommended that multi-homeowner high-ranking public officials dispose of their properties, and it is known that personnel disadvantages are being prepared for officials who have not disposed of their homes. According to the '2020 Regular Property Change Report' released in March, among 750 high-ranking officials in central government ministries, 248 are multi-homeowners, and among the 180 members of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Democratic Party of Citizens elected in the last general election, 42 were classified as multi-homeowners at the time of candidate registration.

Professor Lee emphasized that the core of the problem is "fair taxation," once again targeting tax benefits for rental business operators. He stated, "The housing rental business registration system has undermined the principle of fair taxation," and stressed, "Because of the unjustifiable privileges provided to them, even if we try to solve real estate problems by imposing heavy taxes on multi-homeowners, we have brought about a difficult situation where this is not possible." Professor Lee has previously criticized the rental business system as a "cancer" and a "flower path of speculation."

In conclusion, he argued that tax benefits for rental business operators should be abolished. He explained, "Abolishing them could also help establish fiscal soundness," adding, "I am not saying to abolish them all at once tomorrow, but it should be pursued with sufficient time. Gradual implementation is essential also because it allows rental business operators to have an exit strategy."