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Civic group finds 1 in 5 lawmakers rich enough to owe real estate holdings taxes

Published: 15 Apr. 2025, 15:15 Updated: 15 Apr. 2025, 15:56

A passerby walks in front of a real estate office on June 2, 2024. [YONHAP]

Roughly one in five members of Korea’s 22nd National Assembly is subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax, according to data released by a civic watchdog group on Tuesday. That rate is about 11 times higher than the estimated proportion of the general public subject to the same tax.

The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a Seoul-based nonprofit, held a press conference at its Jongno District headquarters in central Seoul the same day to release a report titled "Real Estate Holdings and Property Tax Status of the 22nd National Assembly."

As of March, 60 out of the 299 lawmakers in parliament reported paying the comprehensive property tax — accounting for 20.1 percent of the legislature.

The CCEJ based its comparison on 2022 housing ownership data, which show that out of Korea’s 21.77 million households, around 397,000 owned property with a value exceeding 1.2 billion won ($844,000) — the threshold for the property tax at the time. Based on this data, the CCEJ estimated that 1.8 percent of the general public is subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax. This led to the CCEJ’s claim that lawmakers are 11 times more likely to pay the tax than the general public.

The CCEJ noted that a significant number of lawmakers benefited from the recent easing of the tax. After taking office, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration implemented a series of tax relief measures, including an increase in the standard deduction threshold for the comprehensive real estate holding tax in 2023 — from 600 million won to 900 million won, and from 1.1 billion won to 1.2 billion won for owner-occupied single-home households.

Under the older standard, 82 lawmakers would have been liable for the tax. But under the revised criteria, the number dropped to 60 — a 26.8 percent decrease.

“Despite claims that easing the comprehensive tax benefits working-class citizens, it is actually the wealthiest 1 percent — including many lawmakers — who reap the greatest benefits,” the CCEJ said.

The group called on the government to restore the previous deduction thresholds to its previous levels — 600 million won, or 900 million won for single-home households — and scrap the “fair market value ratio” system, which it says lowers the taxable base for property valuation.

According to the CCEJ’s analysis of public asset disclosures, the lawmaker with the highest real estate holdings is Rep. Park Jeung of the Democratic Party (DP). He reported 38.24 billion won in buildings and 10 million won in land for a total of 38.25 billion won.

He was followed by People Power Party (PPP) Reps. Park Duk-hyum at 31.48 billion won, Kim Eun-hye at 20.18 billion won, Suh Myung-ok at 18.67 billion won and Baek Jong-hean at 18.33 billion won.

Among the top 10 lawmakers in terms of real estate wealth, three are from the DP and seven are from the PPP, with an average of 16.58 billion in real estate assets.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]