South Korea Weighs Real Estate Tax Overhaul as Housing Concerns Persist

According to Yonhap, South Korea's government is putting the final touches on a tax reform package due in early August that would revise the comprehensive real estate tax by shifting its base from the number of homes owned to total value and adding heavier levies on ultraexpensive properties. The article said the plan also reportedly includes a lower long-term capital gains tax deduction and a three-tier comprehensive real estate tax, while warning that higher holding and transaction taxes could discourage home sales and reduce housing supply. The piece said the more urgent issue is the growing "loan cliff." At Maegyo Station Prugio Palucid in Suwon, Gyeonggi, a 50 billion won ($34.3 million) allocation for final mortgage loans was exhausted in three minutes on Friday. Financial regulators moved only after President Lee Jae Myung told officials to review complaints raised at the previous day's national housing policy forum, but banks remain reluctant to lend further because they fear penalties for exceeding government lending limits. The article also cited a Gallup Korea survey showing Lee's approval rating fell to 51 percent, the lowest in a month, with housing policy dissatisfaction cited as a major reason.