On the 6th, just three days after the government announced its real estate tax revision plan, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held a public forum titled 'Public Discussion for Normalizing Real Estate for Seoul Citizens' at Seoul City Hall. With homeless youth, non-resident single homeowners, private rental business operators, and real estate experts in attendance, the forum addressed three major issues: tax reform, the jeonse and wolse (rental) market, and housing supply. The Seoul Metropolitan Government collected citizen opinions in real time through a YouTube live stream and video links, and the results of the forum will be released at a later date.

On the same day, the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul Metropolitan Chapter also held a meeting at the National Assembly to discuss responses to real estate policy, reviewing the government's overall policies including the tax revision plan. Following President Lee Jae-myung's public forum held on the 23rd of last month, the movements of local governments and the political sphere have been rapidly gaining momentum since the announcement of the government's revision plan.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed strong concerns during his opening remarks at the forum, stating that the government's tax revision plan would have minimal effect on stabilizing housing prices, while potentially triggering rises in jeonse and wolse prices and forced sales by long-term property holders. Mayor Oh said, "There are major concerns that these measures will exacerbate confusion in the real estate market rather than stabilize it," and noted, "It could lead to a situation where housing prices are not controlled but only rental prices rise."

In particular, he pointed out that the tax burden could force long-term property holders with poor cash flows into unwanted sales. Mayor Oh said, "A phenomenon is emerging from this measure where people are being pushed into a situation where they have to sell real estate they have held for a long time during their later years when their cash flow is poor."

Additionally, Mayor Oh recently criticized the government through social media, arguing that while the government has emphasized expanding supply, there is no actual plan to increase it, and instead, only taxes have been strengthened. He claimed, "To reduce capital gains taxes, it may become advantageous for landlords to evict their tenants and move into the properties themselves," and as a result, ordinary citizens and young people who need to find jeonse and wolse housing could suffer.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to diagnose the problems with the government's tax revision plan based on the various opinions of citizens and experts gathered at this forum, and to explore alternative policy directions, such as expanding supply, to stabilize the real estate market.