The 2025 Population and Housing Census published Tuesday describes a South Korea with 1.72 million empty homes, an average household of 2.16 people and nearly a third of its housing units more than 30 years old.

It arrived five days after President Lee Jae Myung staked his political capital on raising the taxes Koreans pay for owning property, with housing already the leading reason (22%) voters gave for his disapproval in Gallup Korea’s late-July survey.

The Lee administration wants to curb debt-funded purchases, reduce the returns available to investors and redirect bank lending and household savings toward productive investment.