Aiming at market outlaws, the ‘omni-directional surveillance network’ of state power is activated. > News

The discussion on establishing a ‘Real Estate Supervisory Service’ targeting the real estate market is a hot potato in our society. The political world is showing its will to block real estate speculation at the source by gathering scattered personal information such as financial, tax, immigration, etc., and to this end, it is considering granting special judicial police authority. However, academics and the opposition are raising concerns about this powerful blade. This is because the state's extensive look into personal asset information has the potential to infringe on property rights and freedom of privacy guaranteed by the Constitution. How the government resolves criticism that the justification for suppressing speculation could lead to the creation of Big Brother, which constantly monitors the public, will be a key factor in determining the success or failure of the legislation.

The foreign exchange market is also under unprecedented pressure under the pretext of ‘eradicating speculative forces.’ As the won-dollar exchange rate remained at a high level of 1,500 won and volatility increased, the government, along with the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service, began a high-intensity joint inspection of major financial institutions, including foreign banks. This is a strong warning that we will go beyond simply watching the exchange rate movement and seek out speculative transactions that hinder the market's price discovery function or intentionally encourage exchange rate increases. The government is closely targeting the illegal trade settlement practices of companies seeking to make foreign exchange profits, and has established a permanent illegal foreign exchange transaction response team, making it clear that it will apply a zero-tolerance principle to acts that disrupt the market.

The National Tax Service is also increasing the intensity of tax administration by declaring a leap forward to become an ‘integrated financial revenue agency’ in line with the government’s policy. The success of collecting hundreds of billions of won in taxes through a large-scale investigation into anti-social tax evasion activities such as stock price manipulation, price fixing, and real estate speculation over the past year proves that the government's will to crack down is not just lip service. In particular, the National Tax Service is establishing a collection cooperation system regardless of domestic or foreign countries to track large and habitual delinquents, and plans to dramatically increase the collection rate by integrating non-national tax revenues, such as fines and surcharges, that have been managed separately. This is a will to establish a fair economic order and secure tax sources, but on the other hand, it is also raising concerns that the concentration of administrative power may reduce private economic activities.

In addition to the central government's macro response, local governments are also taking steps to clean up the environment and strengthen farmland management at the grassroots level. The complete survey of 40,000 parcels of farmland in Gimpo City is an expression of our will to block indiscriminate speculation and create an agricultural environment centered on actual cultivation. In addition, as in the case of the residents of Naedeok-dong, Cheongju, small changes in daily life that transform illegal garbage dumping areas into flower paths are different from the state's grand crackdown on dumping, but symbolically show the community's self-cleaning efforts to not neglect socially illegal activities. In the end, the big goal of eradicating speculation can be said to be a task that can only be completed when the central government's strong institutional edge and the field action of local governments and civil society are aligned.