Choi Jae-hyung Rebuts Ha Tae-kyung's Criticism of Inheritance Tax Abolition... "Without Properly Reviewing My Pledge..."

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Choi Jae-hyung, former head of the Board of Audit and Inspection and a presidential candidate of the People Power Party, rebutted the claims made by lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung, who criticized the abolition of inheritance tax, on the 17th. The points raised by Rep. Ha were actually included in the policy pledge, but he criticized it without properly reviewing the pledge.

On the same day, Choi posted on social media (SNS) a rebuttal titled "Response to Candidate Ha Tae-kyung's Criticism of the 'Complete Abolition of Inheritance Tax' Policy Announcement."

Earlier, Rep. Ha had stated on SNS the previous day, "Candidate Choi cited examples from Canada and Sweden, claiming that many OECD countries do not have inheritance tax, but this is fake news," adding, "Canada and Sweden also have taxes equivalent to inheritance tax. The only difference is that the name is capital gains tax, unlike ours. We tax children at the time of inheritance, but those countries tax when the children dispose of the inherited property." He further criticized, "As someone who studied law, you should speak with accurate knowledge; spreading incorrect information like this is problematic."

In response, Choi said, "Yesterday, as a supplementary measure to the 'complete abolition of inheritance tax,' I proposed a redesign of income tax, corporate tax, and property tax, specifically stating that 'if the inherited property is cash or deposits, it will be taxed as income tax, and if it is real estate or stocks, it will be taxed when disposed of or transferred,'" and questioned, "Isn't the 'capital gains tax' that Candidate Ha mentioned exactly this?"

Choi criticized, "Candidate Ha said, 'As someone who studied law, you should speak with accurate knowledge; spreading incorrect information like this is problematic,' but it seems he spoke without properly reviewing my pledge, despite having majored in basic science."

He added, "I intended to answer this if asked during last night's TV debate, but since no question was raised at that time, I am explaining it here."