South Korea is considering a more flexible application of its proposed three-year deemed-residency rule for single homeowners who relocate for unavoidable reasons, as backlash grows over the government's real estate tax overhaul. Koo Yun-cheol, South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said the three-year period was set as a baseline and could be reviewed further if the reason for not living in the home is judged reasonable, signaling that officials may incorporate public feedback after the law passes during revisions to the enforcement decree. The tax plan announced last month would replace the long-term holding special deduction with a long-term residence income deduction, linking capital gains tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax benefits to the actual period of residence. Under the proposal, homeowners moving to a different city or province for reasons such as school attendance, job transfers, illness, overseas stays tied to study or work, school transfers due to bullying, or cohabitation to support direct ascendants aged 60 or older can have up to three years recognized as residence. Market confusion has centered on whether similar exceptions would apply to moves within the same city or province. Koo also said the government is weighing "pinpoint support" for young people, newlyweds and homeless ordinary citizens as it looks to soften lending rules for genuine end-users, while seeking to boost near-term housing supply through non-apartment homes such as villas and officetels. He said the tax overhaul is designed to cut the burden on owner-occupied homes worth 3 billion won or less, and indicated that tax burdens normalize in the 4 billion to 5 billion won range for ultra-high-priced homes. On multi-homeowners selling properties in regulated areas, he said the capital gains tax surcharge relief is a temporary easing rather than a deferral, with a 5 percentage point surtax applying next year for two-homeowners. Koo also took a cautious line on single-stock leveraged ETFs (funds that magnify moves in one stock), saying concentration had partly eased after the minimum deposit requirement was raised to 30 million won on the 31st of last month.