"Cannot Leave Vacancies in Two Major Judicial Heads... Opposition Must Cooperate in Constitutional Court Chief Hearing Process"
Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the so-called windfall tax being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea on the 17th, calling it "populism." The People Power Party promised a "market principle-based response" regarding the issue of excess profits in the banking sector.
At the party floor meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Floor Leader Yoon introduced, "On the 14th, the Democratic Party proposed the so-called windfall tax law, which is much stronger than the existing bills proposed by the opposition, as it targets not only banks but also the insurance industry," and then criticized, "The Democratic Party's windfall tax law exploits the public sentiment that banks are making huge profits easily by taking advantage of the high interest rate spread amid the global trend of high interest rates, essentially making it a populist bill aimed at next year's general election."
Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
He said, "The issue of additional profits in the banking sector should be handled carefully," and added, "The windfall tax law cannot be free from various legal controversies. Scholars and experts say there is a lack of legal grounds to impose a windfall tax because it is difficult to define what constitutes a windfall. There is also an argument that imposing another tax on top of corporate tax is double taxation."
He continued, "There is also the issue of tax fairness," mentioning, "If taxes are imposed when profits are high, then logically losses should be compensated when they are significant, and there is also the objection of why only banks are taxed while other companies with high profits are left alone."
Regarding the Democratic Party's approach of adopting a levy instead of a tax for the windfall tax, he said, "No matter how much you put on makeup, the bare face does not change," criticizing, "The windfall tax goes against market economy principles and could hinder innovation." He warned, "Although Korean banks enjoy a monopolistic position, with a large proportion of foreign investors, if the windfall tax is introduced improperly, it could lead to capital outflow from foreign investors and difficulties in raising funds."
On the introduction of windfall taxes in countries such as Europe, he said, "It is true that many countries have introduced windfall taxes as energy companies made profits due to the sharp rise in energy prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, but these are temporary taxes aimed at curbing excess profits of fossil fuel companies," and criticized, "There is a saying that 'once tangerines cross the river, they become oranges,' and it seems the Democratic Party has a talent for turning tangerines into oranges."
Regarding the People Power Party's response to this issue, he said, "The government and ruling party will prepare appropriate measures in line with market principles concerning the issue of additional profits in banks."
Meanwhile, concerning the simultaneous vacancy of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the President of the Constitutional Court, Floor Leader Yoon said, "We cannot leave unattended this unprecedented emergency situation in constitutional history where the two heads of the judiciary are vacant," and urged, "We ask the Democratic Party to exclude all political considerations and promptly cooperate with the confirmation process of nominee Lee Jong-seok for the President of the Constitutional Court."
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