Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, who also serves as minister of finance and economy, stressed the need to move away from a system that incentivizes owning a single house when the property can later be rented out.
During an interpellation session of the National Assembly held Friday, Koo said, "Regarding housing policy, we cannot transition to a market that encourages residency if we continue to incentivize house ownership (alone). This has to change."
"It is a matter of the incentive scheme. The plan shifts the basis for incentives from mere ownership to actual residency," he added.
His remarks came as People Power Party Rep. Park Soo-min brought attention to recently proposed tax reforms that seek to reduce incentives for those who own a single property. The reform was proposed as one way to cool Korea's overheated housing market.
Koo refuted Park's claim that such a tax scheme change is "punitive" to those who had invested in property without speculative intentions, but could no longer live there due to personal reasons such as career changes.
"The plan is to change the incentive structure rather than to impose penalties," Koo said. "We aim to shift the incentive structure so that rewards are granted based on residency."
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