Lee warns against non-residential property “switching”

Feb 06, 2026, 07:33 am

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A post by President Lee Jae-myung on X. / Graphic by Park Jong-gyu

Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday issued a warning to the real estate market over so-called “one-prime-home switching,” saying, “Let me be clear—if it is not for residential use, it would be in your interest not to do it.”

The remarks are widely seen as an attempt to curb expectations of “holding out” or “switching” ahead of the May 9 expiration of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes on multiple homeowners, and to preemptively suppress speculative demand.

Lee made the comments in a post on X (formerly Twitter), sharing a media report that said demand for upgrading to a single prime property has persisted even after the government strengthened regulations on multiple homeowners. His message drew a clear line against attempts to circumvent the rules.

The report noted that while price-cut “fire-sale” listings have emerged as the deadline for the tax suspension approaches, buyers seeking to move to higher-tier neighborhoods have been moving quickly to snap up such deals, turning the Seoul housing market into a “switch trade” phase.

Lee has recently delivered a series of tough messages aimed at multiple homeowners. The previous day, responding to claims that owners with tenant-occupied homes would struggle to sell before the tax break expires, he said the deadline had been scheduled annually for the past four years and questioned whether unprepared owners should bear responsibility themselves.

He added that citizens suffering from surging housing prices deserve greater consideration than multiple homeowners who invested or speculated in property while harboring “unwarranted expectations” of repeated extensions.

Earlier, at a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 3, Lee described South Korea’s real estate problem as “a cancerous issue that blocks overall social development,” reaffirming that the suspension of heavier capital gains taxes for multiple homeowners would end as scheduled on May 9.

#Lee Jae-myung #real estate market #housing policy #multiple homeowners #capital gains tax