[Asia Economy, reporters Lee Jieun and Lim Chunhan] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, has pointed out the sharp increase in the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax (known as Jongbuse) and announced that he will seek ways to improve the situation. He also emphasized that the appointment of the first head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) should be decided through an agreement with the opposition party.
At a party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th, Joo said, "The Moon administration's Jongbuse bomb is creating what can only be described as a 'Jongbuse panic.'"
He continued, "Housing prices are rising, the government is pushing up the official price assessments, and on top of that, the Jongbuse bomb has made the public extremely angry at the Moon administration. The People Power Party will proactively seek solutions so that these issues can be addressed before the public is forced to resist the tax burden and say they can no longer live under these conditions."
Joo also said, "We have criticized the Moon administration for collecting large amounts of money through tax bombs, in violation of the principle of legality in taxation, and spending it on populist measures. Even single-home owners cannot avoid the Jongbuse bomb. How can the public not rise up in tax resistance under these circumstances?"
Lee Jongbae, chairman of the party's policy committee, added, "Since yesterday, as the National Tax Service began sending out Jongbuse notices, cries of despair have been pouring in from all over the country. The biggest victims of the Jongbuse bomb are the citizens of Seoul."
He continued, "We must protect the public from tax bombs. Specifically, we will strengthen parliamentary oversight of official price assessments to adjust excessive tax burdens in advance, and we will ease the deduction threshold from 900 million won to 1.2 billion won to reduce taxes for genuine single-home owners. For single-home households with official prices below 900 million won, we will reduce property taxes by up to 50%," he said.
On this day, the People Power Party also stressed that the CIO chief must be selected by consensus within the CIO chief nomination committee. Joo said, "While we welcome the agreement to resume the nomination committee, the Democratic Party should not use the committee as a mere formality to create an alibi while declaring its intention to revise a law that has not even been implemented yet. According to the law, the committee must continue to meet and recommend candidates until a qualified nominee receives consent."
He further stated, "The first CIO chief must be someone acceptable to the opposition, and the recommendation should ensure that no one can claim the nominee has a particular political leaning. If the CIO chief is nominated without the opposition's veto right, whoever is chosen will find it difficult to gain public acceptance."
Joo also remarked, "Yesterday was the anniversary of the Yeonpyeong Island shelling, when North Korea fired more than 170 rounds of long-range and coastal artillery at Yeonpyeong Island, killing two marines and two civilians and devastating parts of the island. It is regrettable that the government seems to be deliberately ignoring such a day."
He continued, "Yesterday, President Moon took annual leave without making any statement, and to make matters worse, Unification Minister Lee Inyoung marked the 10th anniversary by calling it a painful reality of division. I am suspicious of the intention to dilute North Korea's provocation by using neutral language and blaming it on division."
Regarding the third wave of COVID-19, he said, "The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with a strike and continue rallies tomorrow. The ruling bloc, which harshly criticized the Gwanghwamun and National Foundation Day rallies as hotbeds of mass infection, is now remarkably quiet."
He added, "Why is the administration, which called the organizers of the conservative rallies in August murderers, now responding so passively? The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions should immediately cancel tomorrow's general strike rally, and President Moon and the authorities should not discriminate against citizens based on their political orientation but enforce the law with the same intensity as they did with the August 15 and National Foundation Day rallies."
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