Kwon Chil-seung, policy committee chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said he will pursue regulatory reform in the bio and healthcare industries as a core policy task. On the government's property tax overhaul, he left the door open to revisions, saying the party will further review issues such as differential treatment for owners who live in their homes and those who do not, as well as sharp increases in tax burdens.
Kwon made the remarks in an interview with Seoul Economic Daily on the 6th, saying he would "build an institutional framework that encompasses two pillars — improving public health and securing future growth engines." Kwon serves as a member of the Health and Welfare Committee in the second half of the 22nd National Assembly.
Kwon cited two bills as central to the regulatory overhaul: a digital healthcare act that would broaden the use of health and medical data, and an amendment to the Health and Medical Technology Promotion Act that would introduce a regulatory sandbox tailored to the health and medical sector. Kwon was the lead sponsor of both bills.
"When I served as minister of SMEs and startups, what venture companies asked for most was help arranging meetings with officials at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety," he said. "Even after developing a technology, many struggled to commercialize it because there were too few channels to communicate with regulators." Kwon added: "Rather than having innovative companies fear regulators and go around them, I will create an institutional channel through which they can speak directly with officials at the health ministry and the drug safety ministry and explain the safety and potential of their technology. I will make sure innovative technology returns quickly to patients and the public as better medical services."
On the property tax overhaul that has fueled public discontent with the Lee Jae-myung administration, Kwon left room for changes. "The government's tax overhaul is a realistic and reasonable adjustment that has made clear its basic direction — a tax system centered on owners who actually live in their homes," he said, adding that the party "will respond while closely watching market trends." He said: "My personal view is that because the comprehensive real estate tax is a holding tax, it fits the purpose of the levy to focus taxation on ownership itself, while for the capital gains tax, weighing the question of where owners actually live more heavily seems more equitable within the tax system."
Kwon also stressed follow-up legislation to support housing supply. "What the National Assembly must hurry to do is overhaul the laws and procedures blocking supply," he said. "After handling follow-up supply bills such as the Housing Act and the Special Act on Public Housing, we will also move quickly on the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments and the Special Act on the Promotion of Urban Renewal, which are aimed at speeding up redevelopment and reconstruction projects." He added: "I think we need to lower the consent threshold for establishing a redevelopment association from the current 75% to 70%, and to delegate the relevant authority to district mayors for renewal projects of 500 units or fewer in Seoul. We will push legislation and institutional reform in a direction that blocks speculative demand while widening the chance for owner-occupier buyers to buy a home."
On the mega special zone act, a key legislative task for the second half of the year, Kwon said the party will pursue the so-called white-collar exemption — an exception to working-hour rules for highly paid researchers and professionals — "through social dialogue." Regarding principles for reviewing next year's budget, he said: "We intend to support sufficient fiscal investment centered on the five priority investment areas." He added: "We will review the government's investment plans project by project. We will make sure the additional tax revenue from the semiconductor boom contributes to sustainable growth."
