Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy research institute, on the 25th criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's move to ease the comprehensive real estate holding tax on people who own a single home they do not live in, asking, "Is this politics for the 1%?"
Cho made the remarks in a Facebook post the same day, saying, "The Democratic Party must not take the path of tax cuts for the rich." Citing data from the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Cho said, "As of 2025, of about 15.98 million total homeowners, roughly 3% of individuals paid the comprehensive real estate tax on housing, and single-home-owning households account for only about 1%." He added, "Yet Chairman Kim Min-seok and the Democratic Party have set out to relieve even the tax burden on those who own a single home they do not live in."
"At this rate, the share of single-home-owning households paying the comprehensive real estate tax will fall below 1%," Cho said. "Is the Democratic Party trying to do politics for that 1%? I cannot help but ask whether this fits the party's identity."
Cho argued that "a reasonable basis for taxing high-priced homes must be established." He said, "Systems can change with the times, but if these exceptions are for the possible Seoul mayoral election next year and the 2028 general election, they will come back as backlash, not votes."
Cho said, "The spirit of the comprehensive real estate tax, first pushed by the Roh Moo-hyun administration, is fairness. Its purpose lay in realizing tax justice itself, rather than in the total revenue raised through the tax," adding, "Right now, the tax is heading in the opposite direction." He also said, "The most important things in taxation are direction, consistency and credibility. Only when these principles mesh with proper supply measures does genuine real estate reform become possible."
He further stressed, "I urge Chairman Kim and Democratic Party lawmakers. Right now the Democratic Party is listening only to the voices of the economically powerful." He added, "The Lee Jae-myung administration must give top priority to policies that speak for young people and tenants who have few assets, low incomes and no home of their own."
