Korea's top 100 property owners have 20,000 homes: data

SEJONG -- South Korea's top 100 multiple home owners hold more than 20,000 housing units collectively, worth more than 2.5 trillion won ($1.7 billion) combined, an opposition party lawmaker said Thursday, citing state data.

This indicates that an individual was owning 206 units, worth 25.2 billion won, on the average, according to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea, quoting Statistics Korea data.

The number of homes owned by the top 100 individuals increased by 20 percent in four years from 17,244 in 2016, with their collective real estate value surging 67.8 percent from 1.5 trillion won over the corresponding period.

Given the surge by more than 1 trillion won in combined value, an individual is considered to have seen the property value increase by 10 billion won on the average.

Rep. Kim pointed the tax reform scheme under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which seeks to abolish the heavier taxation rate on multiple home owners and raising the upper ceiling for basic tax deductions from the current 600 million won to 900 million won in home prices.

If the revised rule on comprehensive real estate tax goes into effect, an individual of the top 100 group is likely to see their annual tax burden reduced by 1.07 billion won on average -- from the current 1.47 billion won to 394 million won, said the opposition party lawmaker.

“The Yoon administration’s revision plan for the comprehensive real estate tax is aimed at offering benefits to the super-wealthy bracket,” Kim said, adding that he would create a budget, which would benefit ordinary households, by blocking the move for the multiple home owners.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)