Koo floats greenbelt releases, military sites for housing supply, vows imminent announcement

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said the government could partially lift greenbelt restrictions or repurpose military facilities to expand housing supply. The remarks came immediately after the release of the 2026 tax reform plan, which raises the tax burden on non-resident owners of expensive single homes and on owners of ultra-high-value properties, and they underscored his renewed commitment to boosting supply.

Appearing on KBS News on Monday afternoon, Koo said the Lee Jae Myung administration is working to maximize housing supply, including by partially lifting greenbelt restrictions and identifying sites near subway lines, as well as tapping various state-owned military facilities. "We are putting together the most comprehensive supply measures possible," he said.

He added that an announcement would come soon. "I think we will be able to report back to the public before long," he said, signaling that a supply package is imminent.

Koo said the tax reform plan released that day is designed to reduce the comprehensive real estate tax on owner-occupied single homes valued at up to 3 billion won ($2.09 million) and to exempt those valued at 2 billion won or less from the tax altogether. For properties valued at 4 billion won or more — the top 0.4% of the market — the plan raises the tax burden above current levels.

On homes valued at 4 billion won or more, he said the adjustment was a matter of bringing the system back into balance. "The tax burden was far too low relative to home prices in the past, so we normalized it," he said.

Koo also addressed the decision to include a temporary relaxation of the capital gains tax surcharge on multi-home owners in designated adjustment zones through 2028 — even though the government had only reinstated that surcharge on May 10.

Responding to criticism that the reversal undermines policy credibility, Koo said the government had heard from multi-home owners who asked how they were expected to cope with rising taxes on top of the surcharge. "We gave a grace period to reflect the public's views," he said.