Lee moves to end windfall gains in property market

Feb 20, 2026, 04:10 pm

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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Feb. 10. / Yonhap

President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday instructed his Cabinet and senior aides to review the current status of new multi-homeowners and devise stronger regulatory measures, signaling a tougher stance on real estate lending.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lee said, “I have instructed the Cabinet and the presidential secretariat to review the status of loan extensions and refinancing for new multi-homeowners and to come up with clear regulatory measures.”

He added, “To build a country where the people are sovereign and happiness is shared, we must eradicate the republic of unearned real estate income.”

The directive is widely interpreted as a move to address what the administration sees as preferential lending conditions for existing multi-homeowners compared with new buyers.

Earlier, on Feb. 13, Lee questioned whether it was fair to continue extending loan benefits to existing multi-homeowners. “How should we handle existing loans held by multi-homeowners when they mature? After granting tax cuts on capital gains and providing years of opportunity, is it fair to offer additional loan extension benefits to those who refused to reduce their holdings?” he said.

On Thursday, Lee also raised concerns about focusing solely on the rental income-to-interest ratio (RTI) regulation.

“Why are we only reviewing RTI regulations? Loan extensions or refinancing after maturity are essentially no different from new loans,” he wrote. “Therefore, wouldn’t it be fair to apply the same regulations imposed on new multi-home purchases to the extension or refinancing of loans for existing multi-homeowners?”

Lee suggested that a gradual approach could be considered to minimize market shock. “If fully eliminating such loans at once would cause excessive impact, we could implement the measures progressively — for example, resolving 50 percent within one year and 100 percent within two years,” he said.

The remarks underscore the administration’s determination to tighten credit rules and curb what it describes as speculative, unearned gains in the housing market.

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