“The Popular Stocks Will Be Actively Developed”

Prime Minister Goh Kun held a “Policy Board” with the four parties’ Chairman of the Policy Committee and asked for supra-partisan help to improve property tax for cutting off the property speculation and capital gain tax at the prime minister’s official residence in Samchung-dong on October 24.

Prime Minister Goh explained this day, “Throughout the nation, the rate of housing supply will increase to 115 percent by 2015. To achieve this, it is planned that 250,000 housing units, which is 50,000 per year, will be supplied in five years from now on.”

He added, “To get the open market fund out of the property market, the popular stocks will be actively developed, and the private and government joint task force team, which is for inspecting the trend of housing market, will be organized and managed.”

In reference to this, the Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Grand National Party (GNP) Lee Kang-too said, “The government’s property policies should approach problems with actual consumer centered.” Also Chairman of the Open Woori Party (OWP) Chung Sye-Kyun said, “A short term counter plan: restriction on the mortgage backed securities and regulation on the builder’s cost raising; and a middle and a long term counter plan: the full operation of the Development Gain Collection Act and the progressive tax on the possessor of the multiple house and the excessive property are necessary.”

At this day’s meeting, Chairman Lee Kang-too (GNP), Chung Sye-Kyun (OWP), Chung Woo-taek (the United Liberal Democrats), Vice Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Millennium Democratic Party Cho Han-chun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Kim Jin-pyo, Minister of Justice Kang Kum-shil, Minister of Construction & Transportation Choi Jong-chan, and Vice Minister of Labor Park Kil-sang attended.

Prime Minister Goh and the four parties’ Chairman of the Policy Committee agreed to have a Policy Board on the morning of October 29, when a synthetic measure to count property is released.

Jong-Hoon Lee taylor55@donga.com