Anchor: President Lee Jae Myung says the housing supply can be increased and prices stabilized if owners of multiple homes sell their properties that are registered with the government as rental homes. The ruling and opposition parties are clashing over the issue as Lee considers scaling back tax breaks for landlords.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: President Lee Jae Myung is continuing his policy campaign to curtail speculation in the housing market by taking aim at multi-home owners who have registered their properties as rental businesses for tax breaks.

During a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Lee called for scaling back tax benefits that multiple home owners are entitled to, according to the presidential office. 

In a social media post earlier in the day, Lee said capital gains tax benefits should be reconsidered for rental businesses, noting that it could prompt landlords with multi-home portfolios to liquidate their holdings.

Lee also countered an article that criticized his real estate policies, saying it is difficult for anyone to argue that the listing of 42-thousand-500 apartments by multi-home rental operators would have little impact on price stability.

Despite the Lee administration's policy efforts, apartment prices in Seoul have risen for 53 consecutive weeks, climbing over a quarter of a percentage point as of Monday last week.

According to a Deutsche Bank Research Institute report released in June 2025, the same month Lee took office, the average price of an apartment in central Seoul stood at around 22-thousand 875 dollars per square meter. The price was the fourth highest among 69 cities surveyed, behind only Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich.

Since last month, Lee has been actively highlighting his intention to more strictly enforce a heavier capital gains tax for owners of multiple homes, a move that has been postponed three times since its legislation in 2022.

Lee's latest idea of cutting tax benefits for landlords has become another point of contention between the rival parties.

The ruling Democratic Party claims it will help to eradicate real estate speculation while the main opposition People Power Party argues that it will just end up disrupting the rental market.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio news.