(LEAD) Gov't, ruling party share need to relax tax rule for single-home owners not living in property

Seoul, August 23 (Yonhap) -- The government and ruling Democratic Party reached agreement Sunday on adjusting a proposed tax revision that may negatively impact single-home owners who do not reside in their property, according to a party spokesperson.

The consensus emerged during an unprecedented high-level policy coordination meeting convened following the Democratic Party's election of former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok as its new leader last Monday.

Both the government and the party agreed to address issues such as expanding residency recognition for individuals unable to live in their property due to unavoidable circumstances. The spokesperson for the Democratic Party, Park Sung-joon, announced these details during a press briefing at the National Assembly after the meeting.

Furthermore, the two sides agreed to push for a law revision that would permit local government officials to issue construction permits for residential complexes comprising up to 500 units. In the meeting held at Prime Minister Han Seong-sook's official residence, Kim previously expressed the need for additional deliberation regarding the government's plan to increase housing supply in the greater Seoul area and the accompanying tax code revisions.

These revisions include reducing the basic deduction for the comprehensive real estate holding tax from 1.2 billion won to 900 million won for single-home owners not residing in their property.

Kim emphasized the importance of broadly recognizing various unavoidable reasons for not living in the property and eliminating blind spots. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik stressed the significance of sending clear signals, including the timing, location, and quantity of units to be constructed, to alleviate public concerns about housing supply.

He urged the party's local leaders to utilize their community knowledge to propose solutions for securing land for housing construction in the near term, assuring that the government and Cheong Wa Dae would carefully review these proposals.