Lee Jun-seok demands home sales to restore policy trust

Feb 03, 2026, 08:00 am

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Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, answers reporters’ questions after a party leadership meeting at the National Assembly on Feb. 2. / Photo by Jang Yerim

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, said Sunday that public trust in the government’s housing policy will depend on whether ruling-party lawmakers and senior officials sell their homes by May 9, the date when a temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes for multiple homeowners expires.

Speaking at a party leadership meeting held at the National Assembly, Lee directly challenged members of the Democratic Party and government officials, asking, “Will you sell your homes by May 9?”

Citing data from the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, Lee said 25 of the Democratic Party’s 165 lawmakers own multiple homes. He added that 20 lawmakers own properties in Seoul’s four affluent Gangnam districts, with 11 of them renting out homes rather than living in them. He also noted that a considerable number of senior officials in the presidential office and cabinet reportedly own multiple homes or high-priced properties.

“If these insiders do not sell their homes by May 9,” Lee said, “the market will conclude that even the architects of the policy do not believe in its effectiveness.” He added that the choices made by these officials by the deadline would determine the credibility of the government’s real estate policy.

Lee also recalled a case from the Moon Jae-in administration in 2019, when then presidential chief of staff Roh Young-min urged multiple-home owners in the Seoul metropolitan area to sell their properties. At the time, Lee noted, then senior presidential secretary Kim Jo-won resigned rather than sell his apartment in Gangnam, prompting public criticism that he “chose a home over his post.”

Lee said he hopes such situations will not be repeated under the Lee Jae-myung administration, calling on the president to demonstrate firm resolve. “The market is watching whether Democratic Party lawmakers and government officials are signing sales contracts or still holding onto their property deeds,” he said.

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