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President Lee Jae Myung expressed concern on Thursday that South Korea’s heavy concentration of investment in real estate could be steering the country toward a market bubble and subsequent collapse similar to Japan’s experience in the 1990s. Speaking at a publicly televised discussion on real estate policy, Lee said stabilizing the market ranks among the nation’s biggest challenges and that there is broad consensus on the need to raise property holding taxes.

According to reporting by Yonhap News, the president made the remarks as the government prepares to revise real estate taxes in an effort to rein in soaring home prices. The session brought together roughly 140 participants, including YouTubers, internet users, real estate agents, and representatives from the financial, media and academic sectors, along with Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and other Cabinet members. Experts on housing supply, financing and taxation gave presentations before the open discussion.

Lee referred to Japan’s real estate boom and the market’s later collapse, saying it “burst like a balloon” after rising demand continued to push prices higher and led to references to Japan’s “lost 20 years” or “lost 30 years.” “In fact, quite a few people are worried that we are heading toward that kind of peak. And many people share the view that we need to take countermeasures at this point,” he said, as carried by Yonhap News. He also noted that, by objective figures, South Korea’s real estate asset prices and the share of investment directed into property “may be among the highest in the world.”

The president reaffirmed a commitment to “normalizing” the market and said there is broad consensus on strengthening real estate taxes, while adding that the central question is how far rates should rise. Bringing property holding taxes fully into line with those of advanced countries would require tripling them, he said, but such a step would be tantamount to provoking a “riot,” so a compromise would be needed. Yonhap News reported that the government is expected to announce a revision to property holding taxes as early as late this month and is anticipated to raise the tax burden on owners of high-value homes or multiple homes as a way to cool housing demand. Lee distinguished between owner-occupied homes, which he said should be protected under policy, and multiple-home ownership pursued for asset accumulation, on which he stressed the need for a higher tax burden.

Coverage Comparison

Coverage of the president’s remarks comes from Yonhap News, which carried both fuller accounts of the televised discussion and shorter summary items. The reporting consistently centers Lee’s comparison with Japan’s 1990s experience, his description of market stabilization as a major national challenge, and the government’s forthcoming work on property holding taxes. One strand of the coverage leads with the risk of a bubble and the scale of real-estate investment; another leads with the stated consensus on raising holding taxes and the goal of normalizing the market. Both strands attribute the policy discussion to the same public event and note the expected late-month timeline for tax revisions targeting high-value and multiple-home owners. A separate Yonhap News roundup listed the tax-consensus remarks alongside unrelated items on Seoul stock performance and youth labor-force participation, without expanding the real-estate policy detail.

Key Claims

  • President Lee Jae Myung said there is broad consensus on the need to raise property holding taxes, remarks made at a public discussion on real estate policy as the government prepares tax revisions, according to Yonhap News.
  • The government plans to revise real estate taxes to rein in soaring home prices, Yonhap News reported.
  • Lee described stabilizing the real estate market as “one of South Korea’s biggest challenges,” as quoted by Yonhap News.
  • Lee referred to Japan’s real estate market boom and subsequent collapse in the 1990s, saying the market “burst like a balloon” and citing talk of “lost 20 years” or “lost 30 years,” according to Yonhap News.
  • The government is expected to raise the tax burden on owners of high-value homes or multiple homes to cool housing demand, Yonhap News reported.
  • Lee said bringing holding taxes fully into line with advanced-country levels would require tripling rates but would risk a “riot,” so a compromise is needed, as carried by Yonhap News.
  • The discussion was televised live and included about 140 participants from varied sectors plus the prime minister and Cabinet members, according to Yonhap News.