Closed Meeting Led by Policy Committee Chair Kim Seonghwan
"Party Leadership to Make Decisions Soon"
Kim Seong-hwan, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 15th, the Democratic Party of Korea held a meeting chaired by the party’s Policy Committee Chair with members of the Political Affairs Committee and the Strategy and Finance Committee regarding the Financial Investment Income Tax (FIIT), but no conclusion was reached, and the final decision was handed over to the party leadership.
Kim Seong-hwan, Chair of the Democratic Party’s Policy Committee, held a meeting in the afternoon at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building with party policy committee members and members of the Political Affairs and Strategy and Finance Committees to discuss the government’s tax law proposal to postpone the introduction of the FIIT next year. Attendees included lawmakers Kim Byung-wook, Kim Seong-joo, Kim Ju-young, Kim Tae-nyeon, Shin Dong-geun, Lee Soo-jin, and Lee Yong-woo, as well as former lawmaker Choi Un-yeol.
After the meeting, Chair Kim told reporters, “No conclusion was reached today. Since it is difficult to make a decision solely at the standing committee level, it was decided to have the party leadership determine the policy on how to proceed with the system as soon as possible.”
He mentioned, “There were opinions both in favor of introducing the system as scheduled and those suggesting that it would be better to postpone it somewhat due to the still somewhat unstable real and other markets.”
He also explained, “Even if income is generated through securities and stock investments, income up to 50 million won is tax-exempt, and since losses can also occur, a system has been designed to compensate for loss carryforwards over five years. However, because the FIIT has been perceived as if a new tax is being introduced, there has been some misunderstanding.”
Regarding the background of the FIIT introduction, Chair Kim explained, “Since various products have different systems?some are subject to transaction tax, some to capital gains tax, and some are tax-exempt products?it is appropriate to unify the system in line with advanced countries’ systems.”
Earlier, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, reportedly expressed concerns about the forceful push for the FIIT during a closed-door Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 14th, saying, “I’m not sure if it is right to proceed under the current circumstances.”
Chair Kim also addressed this by saying, “The leader expressed a personal opinion yesterday,” and “The leadership has not made a decision.” He added, “We have left the door open for key party lawmakers and the relevant standing committees to decide how to handle this issue,” emphasizing again, “The leadership has not set any policy.”
Shin Dong-geun, the opposition party’s ranking member of the Strategy and Finance Committee, told reporters on his way to the meeting that “I am consistently in favor of implementing the tax rather than postponing it.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
