Credit: Newspim.
On November 4, Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung 이재명 민주당 당대표 officially announced that the liberal opposition will acquiesce to the Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 administration’s demand to repeal the Financial Investment Income Tax 금융투자소득세, which would have taken effect in January 2025. Lee said: “It would be right in principle to implement the tax, but the stock market is suffering too much right now.”
The FIIT, one of the Moon Jae-in 문재인 administration’s landmark legislative achievements, was designed to bring South Korea’s capital market regulation in line with international standards. Lee, however, has been hesitant to push for a new tax, for fear that political opponents could hang it around the Democratic Party’s neck for years to come, similar to the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax 종합부동산세 introduced during the Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 administration. (See previous coverage, “FIIT Becomes a Hot Potato.”)
