President Lee Jae Myung said that ordinary people struggling with surging home prices deserve more consideration than investor landlords, who hold unrealistic expectations that the government will continue deferring its capital gains surcharge.

The president posted a newspaper editorial on X on Wednesday, arguing that landlords with multiple-property portfolios in regulated zones will struggle to sell homes before the temporary exemption ends on May 9.

Lee said in response that the surcharge had been scheduled to return each year for the past four years and that the failure to prepare was on the investors. 

Lee has repeatedly stressed his resolve to stabilize the real estate market, posting in successive messages since late last month that he was not considering an additional suspension of the surcharge. 

On Tuesday evening, he also shared an article reporting an increase in the number of apartments for sale in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam District, questioning why some media continued to make false claims that no properties were coming onto the market.