Key Summary
- People Power Party floor leader Jang Jeong-sik criticized calls within the Democratic Party to ease comprehensive real estate tax rules for non-resident single-home owners.
- He said the remarks amounted to a belated effort to help the party in the next general election.
- Jang also accused Democratic Party lawmakers of trying to create political distance from the presidential office to win back local support.
- He called for a full review of what he described as a punitive tax policy and a shift in the government’s loan-restriction stance.
Main Story
South Korea’s ruling People Power Party has escalated its criticism of the opposition Democratic Party over disagreements on housing policy.
Jang Jeong-sik, the party’s floor leader, said remarks inside the Democratic Party urging relief from the comprehensive real estate tax for non-resident single-home owners were nothing more than a late attempt to secure votes ahead of the next general election. He made the comments on his social media account on the 11th.
Jang questioned whether Democratic Party lawmakers believed that partially distancing themselves from the presidential office on housing policy would be enough to recover support in their districts. He also criticized the party for what he described as ignoring public pain over the issue until now, only to ask for revisions to the tax reform proposal later.
In his statement, Jang said the opposition should have stopped such policy claims earlier, including at the point when the president spoke about housing policy in terms that Jang said reflected overconfidence. He argued that the public would not be persuaded by what he described as a low-level performance and said there is already a broad public belief that property prices rise when the Democratic Party is in power.
Jang further said that what the ruling party should demand from the government is not a minor revision driven by short-term vote calculations, but a complete reconsideration of tax reform centered on punitive taxation, along with a full change in the direction of tighter lending restrictions.
He also referred to President Lee Jae-myung’s remarks at a cabinet meeting about harsh punishment for illegal real estate activity, calling those remarks “a reckless statement” in his criticism.
Jang then linked the issue to the president’s earlier support for a special counsel bill related to his release from prison, saying that move had created an unavoidable political burden. He concluded that both the president and the Democratic Party would face political punishment.
Background
The supplied text does not provide additional background beyond the current dispute over real estate tax policy and lending restrictions.
Items Requiring Further Verification
- The claims and judgments made by Jang Jeong-sik are clearly attributed to him and reflect political opinion rather than independently established fact.
- The statement that public sentiment will not be influenced because of a supposed public “common sense” about property prices under Democratic Party rule is a partisan assertion and not substantiated in the article.
- The reference to a special counsel bill related to the president’s release from prison is mentioned without detailed context in the supplied text and would require independent verification for full clarity.