[Editorial] Listen to Those Who Own No Home

The real estate policy about to be announced at the end of this month is taking shape. Mainly there will be stronger real estate taxes and a means to reclaim income from speculative investment in order to make it less desirable. That is not all that different from what was expected, and yet it seems the plan is already being attacked before it is finalized.

The conservative media are already trying to hold real estate policy back. Some of their claims have merit, but the intention is more about finding fault. They try to incite tax resistance while promoting claims that "economics comes first." In the pages of the conservative media these days you frequently see talk of a "tax bomb" or questions like "who will ever sell their homes when they scared of the taxes?" The real estate measures are about getting control of nationally ruinous speculative investment, so it is only natural that people rich in real estate are going to have heavier tax burdens. As things happen some parts of society that have no intention of engaging in speculative investment could get hit with stray bullets. However, policy can never take all circumstances into consideration. Some media are trying to incite tax resistance by using that.

The claim that "economics comes first" is the ultimate weapon and it appears without fail. So do the news articles talking about how policy might "extinguish the embers of economic recovery" and that "the economy must not be abandoned because of speculative investment." It's frustrating as you wonder whether they're saying that the real estate issue should be tabled for the time being for the sake of the economy. Stabilizing real estate prices is a most pressing task when it comes to sustainable economic growth. When the economy is held up by a real estate bubble it cannot last long and when the bubble pops there are massive aftereffects, and surely they know that is the case.

With things like a "coalition government" and the "X file" in the air the ruling and opposition camps are after each other to the point that you worry whether real estate policy will be able to be settled properly. More than half of the population in Seoul does not have homes. We hope the media listens first and foremost to their sighs.

The Hankyoreh, 20 August 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]