Yoon Orders Guidance on 'Tax Objection Procedures'... "Reflected in Rewards and Personnel Decisions" (Comprehensive)

Taxpayer's Day Attendance After 53 Years... "Paying Taxes Is Difficult"
Direct Warning to Illegal Unions and Civic Groups: "We Will Not Use Public Funds"
Moon Administration Criticizes 'Populist Political Welfare' and Emphasizes 'Welfare for the Vulnerable'

President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 3rd instructed the Commissioner of the National Tax Service and the President of the Tax Tribunal to "properly guide the tax appeal procedures and find public officials who have greatly contributed to the prompt handling of these cases, rewarding them and reflecting this in personnel decisions." He particularly emphasized the principle of 'tax rule of law,' stating that national tax funds should be intensively invested in enhancing administrative functions and industrial development, and that groups harming national interests will be boldly excluded from fiscal support.

President Yoon made these remarks while attending the '57th Taxpayer's Day' ceremony held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, promising to expand taxpayers' rights and welfare for the vulnerable. It was the first time in 53 years since 1970 that a president attended the Taxpayer's Day ceremony, signaling a direct warning against some labor unions and civic groups that waste taxes, stating that they will not receive government subsidies. President Yoon also shared his candid thoughts, saying, "The economy is difficult, and paying taxes is also hard, but I thought I should come at least once in such times."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is participating in a ceremony promising faithful tax payment with attendees at the 57th Taxpayer's Day commemorative event held on the 3rd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the event, President Yoon stated, "We will not use taxpayers' money for politically organized groups that engage in illegal activities or harm national interests." This reaffirmed the government's stance not to provide support funds to militant labor unions that commit illegal acts at workplaces or fail to submit accounting books to the government, as well as to civic groups that have fraudulently received subsidies.

He also criticized the previous administration's tax policies. President Yoon said, "We will practice 'welfare for the vulnerable,' which strongly supports the underprivileged and socially weak, rather than populist 'political welfare' aimed at securing political camps and votes." He emphasized, "We will also invest fiscal resources in creating quality jobs, advancing cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation, and fostering startups." Regarding real estate taxation, he mentioned, "We will not impose excessive taxation that burdens the people or excessively infringes on property rights due to political or ideological obsessions."

His remarks highlighting the fair operation of the tax system and support for appeal procedures, emphasizing taxpayers' rights, also stood out. President Yoon stated, "We will operate the tax system transparently and fairly according to the law," and stressed, "No matter how difficult the national finances are, we will not burden those who find it practically difficult to appeal taxes, such as self-employed individuals and small business owners, with excessive taxation." He added, "Tax appeal procedures such as objections, requests for review, and requests for adjudication will be handled promptly to ensure that the constitutionally guaranteed 'tax legality principle' is implemented not just formally but substantially."

In particular, he summoned the Commissioner of the National Tax Service and the President of the Tax Tribunal and instructed them to "find and reward public officials who have properly guided tax appeal procedures and contributed to their prompt handling, and reflect this in personnel decisions." He further explained, "In the United States, there is something called taxpayer litigation, where if the federal, state, or city governments collect taxes and misuse them, taxpayer representatives can even file lawsuits to prevent reckless spending."

Meanwhile, at the event, government awards were given to exemplary taxpayers including Ssanggom Co., Ltd. and actors Kim Soo-hyun and Song Ji-hyo among 11 recipients. The 'High Taxpayer's Tower' was awarded to five high-tax-paying businesspeople including Song Ho-sung, CEO of Kia Motors. President Yoon personally shook hands with the awardees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.