▲ Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Presidential Office
Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Presidential Office, assessed the current state of the South Korean economy as a "historic boom" today (June 20). He stated that alongside the normalization of real estate taxation, there is a need for imagination and execution to channel corporate profits and fiscal capacity toward vulnerable groups and future industries.
In a post on his Facebook page today, Kim wrote, "Figures such as stock prices, operating profits, tax revenue, and the current account are all pointing in a positive direction."
"This boom is not an illusion; it is real," he said, adding, "It appears that South Korea's nominal GDP growth rate will exceed double digits this year."
He continued, "People are seeing these positive numbers in the news, but they do not yet feel that it is a reality connected to their own lives. However, there is a high possibility that the atmosphere will change significantly in the second half of the year."
"Luxury consumption is reviving, and buying sentiment for real estate in preferred areas may begin to stir again."
"The real hurdle will be at the end of this year and the beginning of next year," he said.
He predicted, "Once performance bonuses are paid, wage increases are realized, and export proceeds begin to flow into the country in earnest, people's behavior will change. Looking back at the past, such money has repeatedly tended to flow into the real estate market."
He added, "We must normalize real estate taxation. Reasonably adjusting property taxes and capital gains taxes is a necessary and correct direction."
He then asked rhetorically, "Is that enough?" and noted, "If there is a conviction that it remains a profitable business even after paying taxes, typical regulations may be insufficient."
Regarding future interest rate hikes, he said, "Self-employed individuals, vulnerable borrowers, and those with variable-rate loans who have not felt the effects of the boom are highly likely to be shaken first. The fruits of the boom move upward, while the pain of tightening moves downward. This is the most uncomfortable picture."
Regarding solutions to this problem, Kim stated, "If the national wealth earned by semiconductors is absorbed into unearned income from real estate and the fruits of growth are concentrated on a few, this boom will not last long. Conversely, if we can connect fiscal capacity and corporate profits to youth, vulnerable groups, and future industries, this boom could be the starting point for the Korean economy to emerge from the tunnel of low growth it has been stuck in for a long time."
He emphasized, "A historic boom requires both the imagination befitting it and the execution to turn that imagination into reality."
Previously, last month, Kim also proposed a "national dividend system" to return excess tax revenue to the public, stating, "The fruits of the AI infrastructure era are not the result of a single company's efforts alone."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.