Reporter's notebook 'Actions speak louder than words'

Kim Hyun-jun / Korea Times file

Why NTS chief's anti-property speculation drive sounds relevant

By Lee Kyung-min

One of the main policy drives of National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun has been identifying attempted tax evasion concerning gains derived from property trading, in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's key initiative to stem real estate speculation.

A year after he took office on June 28, 2019, the drive under his leadership seems still relevant, mostly because he avoided being “too hypocritical,” unlike many senior Cheong Wa Dae officials still refusing to sell their additional “homes,” except one, despite the President's repeated recommendation.

Before Kim was named NTS commissioner, he had two homes ― one in Apgujeong, southern Seoul, and the other in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

But he sold the apartment in Gyeonggi Province at a loss of nearly 300 million won ($250,000) shortly before his confirmation hearing held June 26.

Factoring into the hurried decision was the need to gain a competitive edge against his then-major competition Kim Dae-ji, the current vice NTS commissioner who at the time had no property.

Kim took a chance giving up “the insurance” needed for life after leaving the NTS, and it paid off.

He ended up becoming the NTS chief despite being grilled by lawmakers that viewed the last-minute transaction as a clever move to keep “one home that matters,” a strategy shared by many home owners that keep one in high-demand, affluent areas instead of having many in areas with little prospects of a price hike.

Whatever the motive behind it, he sold his second home.

Every time Kim stresses the need to crack down on property speculation, the call does not ring hollow.

This is because his words were backed by his actions, a rare quality found in high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae officials under the Moon administration, whose double standards have drawn repulsion and disgust for their “height of hypocrisy.”

Data from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a left-leaning civic group, showed in June that eight senior Cheong Wa Dae officials owning two homes or more have seen their asset value jump over 700 million won since Moon took power in 2017. Their combined assets averaged 1.98 billion won as of June, up 730 million won from 1.17 billion in May 2017.

Not one has since said anything about selling their home in the following few weeks, further undercutting the Moon administration's real estate policy defined by a 52 percent increase in the median price of Seoul apartments over the past three years despite 21 rounds of measures to stem this. Only on Wednesday did some of them begin to say they would get rid of their additional properties after Prime Minister strongly recommended that officials with multiple home owners should sell everything except their primary residence.

The government is seeking to roll out the 22nd round of measures today, but they will become even more pointless only proving the policy failure illustrated by the top government officials holding onto their investments ever so strongly.

Actions speak louder than words, especially those of high-ranking public servants who should lead by example.

Kim is reported to be replaced soon. He will be remembered as one of the rare public servants that understood the true meaning of moral leadership.