Minister Park Sang-woo: "Excluding Tax Surcharges on New Small House Purchases is Market Normalization"

Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated on the 11th regarding the exclusion of tax surcharges when purchasing newly built small non-apartment housing, "It is not that we are not going to collect taxes, but rather to normalize the market."

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is speaking at the post-briefing of the "Public Livelihood Discussion with the People" held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 10th. / Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Minister Park met with reporters at the Government Complex Sejong that morning and said, "The surcharge was announced as a measure when real estate speculation was rising. Since this is not a time when speculation is rising, shouldn't it be removed?"

The government announced in the 'Measures to Expand Housing Supply and Supplement the Construction Market for National Housing Stability' released the day before that for newly built small houses completed from January this year to December next year, if purchased for the first time, acquisition tax, capital gains tax, and comprehensive real estate tax will be excluded from the calculation of the number of houses.

Minister Park emphasized, "It is not desirable for the government to intervene in the market, but just as we wear summer clothes in summer and winter clothes in winter, even if we have to reapply it when necessary, now is the time to remove the surcharge."

Regarding concerns about reverse discrimination in the metropolitan area and criticism that the focus is too much on small-sized houses, he said, "We are trying to proceed cautiously," adding, "We targeted so that those who rent monthly or yearly can easily find the houses they need."

Regarding deregulation centered on redevelopment and reconstruction projects, he said, "We intend to help so that projects can be carried out at low interest rates and low costs as much as possible."

He added, "If project operators succeed in their projects, in the case of regional development projects, benefits go to local residents, and in rental housing development projects, benefits go to the common people," and "The Ministry of Land plans, makes laws, and secures budgets. The actual battle is fought by public institutions or those in the construction industry, so they need to put in effort."

Regarding the spread of the real estate project financing (PF) insolvency crisis triggered by Taeyoung Construction's workout application, he said, "We are closely monitoring the market situation." Minister Park stated, "It is important to prevent the workout from spreading like a domino effect throughout the industry, not just being a problem of a specific company," and "If such signs occur, the guarantee card can be used. We intend to provide sufficient public guarantees."

KDB Industrial Bank, the main creditor bank of Taeyoung Construction, held the first creditors' meeting to decide whether to start the workout for Taeyoung Construction on the same day. The vote will be conducted through written consultation.

Additionally, Minister Park expressed strong determination regarding overseas construction orders, aiming to achieve $50 billion annually during the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. He said, "While we still need to secure plant orders, which are the mainstream, I believe that if we create a long-term funding model for urban development projects open worldwide, an infinite market can open," and "I will work hard during my term."