Yoon Seok-yeol Declares "End of the Imperial Presidency"... Also Proposes 'Abolition of Capital Gains Tax on Stocks'

Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party Presidential Candidate, to Announce Political Promises on 27th
'Abolition of Capital Gains Tax on Stocks' Seen as Appeal to '10 Million Ants' Voters

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is delivering a greeting at the "We Are Yoon Seok-yeol!" Victory Resolution Rally for National Assembly members and non-incumbent party association chairpersons held on the 26th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum, Hyunji Kwon] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, announced that he will not use the name Cheongwadae. This is an expression of his intention to end the imperial presidency system. Along with this, he pledged to abolish the stock transfer tax, continuing to court the votes of the so-called 'Donghak Ants'. This is interpreted as a tough stance against the current government’s plan to expand the capital gains tax application criteria from 2023, as well as a policy conscious of the 'KOSPI falling below 2700 points'.

On the 27th, through his political reform pledge, Candidate Yoon stated, "The imperial presidency will now be abolished," and "The name Cheongwadae will disappear starting from the next administration." He added, "The existing Cheongwadae site will be opened to the public, and its use will be decided by gathering the will of the people." In addition, Candidate Yoon said he would transform the presidential office into a team of elite aides and a joint public-private committee, and significantly increase the autonomy and responsibility of the prime minister and ministers.

On the same day, Candidate Yoon posted a one-line pledge on his Facebook stating "Abolish stock transfer tax." The government plans to expand the capital gains tax application criteria from 2023, imposing up to 25% transfer tax on capital gains exceeding 50 million KRW annually for major shareholders as well as individual investors, but he boldly promises to eliminate this.

Candidate Yoon’s pledge is interpreted as taking into account the decline in the KOSPI index due to the base interest rate hike. Individual investors, known as the so-called '10 million ants', were engulfed in anxiety as the KOSPI index fell below 2700 points for the first time in 13 months as of that morning. Won Hee-ryong, head of the policy headquarters of the People Power Party’s election campaign, said at a joint meeting of the campaign headquarters and the floor leadership at the National Assembly that day, "We cannot ignore the despair, anxiety, and anger of stock investors who have placed their last hope for life assets in the domestic and U.S. stock markets," and explained, "We will protect ant investors across generations and ages who place their dreams of asset formation in the stock market by overcoming the Korea discount."