Songpa-gu in Seoul has submitted a formal proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport calling for improvements to the apartment listed-price calculation system, citing concerns over rising tax burdens on residents and weakening public acceptance of the current regime.
Songpa-gu's apartment listed prices rose 25.49% in 2026, far exceeding the Seoul Metropolitan Government average of 18.67%. Property taxes on housing also increased 23.73% from the previous year.
Analysts say a handful of record-high transactions — driven by reconstruction expectations in the Jamsil area, development anticipation and new-build premiums — have been pulling listed prices sharply higher.
District Mayor Seo Gang-seok called for urgent reform, saying the listed-price system "is not simply a source of real estate price information — it is a core administrative benchmark that directly affects citizens' tax burdens and welfare eligibility standards."
The district said apartment listed prices serve as the basis for a wide range of administrative systems — including property and comprehensive real estate holding taxes, national health insurance premiums and welfare benefit thresholds — and that both the burden on residents and tax equity must be taken into account.
Songpa-gu's proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport calls for five reforms: minimizing the reflection of abnormal transactions in areas with short-term price spikes, applying median prices, operating market-reflection rates flexibly, phasing in excessive price increases gradually, and legislating mandatory analysis of tax impacts and assessments of taxpayer burden.
The district also submitted the proposed reforms as a research topic to a local tax research institute.
Seo said the government must reform the system so that "price appropriateness, tax equity and public acceptability are reflected in a balanced way," adding that "Songpa-gu will continue to work with the central government to stabilize residents' tax burdens and ensure the fair operation of the listed-price system."
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