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Lee reaffirms no extension of capital gains tax exemption for owners of multiple homes

Published: 25 Jan. 2026, 19:32

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior aides' meeting at the Blue House in Jongno District, central Seoul on Jan. 22. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed Sunday the government will not extend an exemption of the heavy capital gains tax for owners of multiple homes.

In a post on social media platform X, Lee said the tax exemption will expire May 9, as previously decided in February 2025.

"If one thought there would be another legal revision to extend it again, that's a miscalculation," he wrote. "The unfair benefits from an abnormality have to be removed at all costs even if it's hard."

The temporary tax exemption was introduced in May 2022 as part of efforts to stimulate the real estate market and has been extended annually.

Currently, capital gains taxes on real estate sales range from 6 to 45 percent. Owners of two homes in areas designated as speculative zones face an additional 20 percentage points, while those with three homes are subject to a 30 percentage-point surcharge on top of the basic rate.

Lee said in his post that he will discuss at a Cabinet meeting whether to grant the exemption for deals made until May 9.

He had said in a post Friday that an extension "is not under consideration at all."

Yonhap