Lee Hyung-taek Tong, a lawyer at Law Firm Tong, views real estate as a social resource, not just a private asset, and emphasizes the need to strengthen public ownership to address issues of housing insecurity, inequality, and speculation. In addition to strengthening regulations through administrative and legislative measures, he argues that the tax system should be overhauled, development profits should be returned, and lease protection should be expanded to compensate for market failures.
In terms of legal issues, Mr. Lee presents the proper compensation and expropriation procedures for land and housing, the possibility of litigation related to the right to housing, and the constitutional and administrative law validity of strengthening transaction reporting and taxation. Tong says that the firm aims to balance public and private property rights by proposing relevant law amendments, advising local governments and the state, designing contracts and compliance to prevent disputes, and responding to lawsuits.