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| Protesters shout slogans against a revision to real estate-related bills during a rally, Aug. 1, near the National Assembly in Seoul. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
Rival parties continued to clash over revisions to the Housing Lease Protection Act, which would be aimed at raising taxes on owners of multiple homes and containing property market speculation.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which controls 176 seats out of the 300-member Assembly, is determined to pass the bills at a plenary session today, the last day of the July extraordinary assembly. But the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) is refusing to cooperate.
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where 11 out of 18 seats are held by the ruling party, passed the revision bills on Monday night to enable them to be put to a vote in the plenary session. The UFP did not participate in the committee vote.
The DPK has claimed it is necessary to swiftly pass the bills in order to improve the people's livelihoods and support the Moon Jae-in administration's policy priority to cool down the housing market, particularly relating to the steep housing prices in Seoul and nearby areas.
"We will make sure to pass the bills related to real estate and other related bills to improve the people's livelihoods at the plenary session today," DPK chairman Lee Hae-chan said during a meeting of the party's supreme council.
But the UFP is claiming that the DPK is railroading the bills without due procedure or proper review and is resolved to protest the ruling party's push to pass controversial bills, not just regarding real estate but also other thorny issues, such as the bill for establishing a separate agency, other than the prosecution and police, for investigating corruption allegations against ranking officials.
On Monday, UFP interim chief Kim Chong-in slammed the ruling party for rushing the real estate-related revisions, saying they will do little to achieve the Moon administration's policy objective of cooling down the housing market.
"The people's rage over the government's real estate policies is getting stronger," Kim said during a party meeting. "The bills have only contributed to deepening the conflict between landlords and tenants. In the long run, the laws will not be beneficial for the tenants, and will only end up hampering the housing supply."
On July 2, President Moon instructed Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee to come up with measures to address the housing issue, including levying heavier taxes on people with more than one home and revising the comprehensive real estate tax bill.
"DPK Rep. Yun Ho-jung, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, has ignored laws and principles to handle the bills in accordance with a scenario designed to comply with the President's order," UFP members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee said in a statement, Monday. "This is dictatorial behavior."
The UFP is feeling more confident about blocking the passage of the bills after a speech at the National Assembly by one of its lawmakers, Rep. Yun Hee-suk, made headlines last week.
An economic expert, the first-term lawmaker pointed out the fallacies of the government's real estate policy based on her experience as a leaseholder.
She also drew attention for selling one of her homes in Sejong City in light of the rising criticisms against politicians and ranking officials who own more than one home, which is seen to go against the government's policy for cooling down the housing market.
Cheong Wa Dae had sought to convince owners of multiple homes among senor presidential aides to sell their properties other than their main residence by the end of July, but some were unable to meet the deadline.
