President Yoon Chairs Cabinet Meeting... Criticizes Abuse of 'Quasi-Taxes' and 'Shadow Taxes'
Orders Restructuring of 91 Current Charges... "Economic Will Weakening"
Concerns Over 'Serious Accident Punishment Act' Implementation: "Need a Little More Time"
Criticizes Chairman Kim Jong-un as "Self-Admitted Anti-National, Anti-Historical Group"
President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 16th, "We must not indiscriminately impose charges simply because it is easy to secure funding," and added, "We need to conduct a full investigation of the current 91 charges and reconsider them from the ground up." This directive calls for a major restructuring of the statutory charges, which have a quasi-tax nature, amounting to about 24 trillion won annually collected from the public and businesses. A total of 91 items are subject to review. The government plans to abolish or reduce unreasonable charges on a large scale and significantly expand the scope of exemptions so that the public and businesses can feel the impact.
On the same day, President Yoon presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office and said, "For a dynamic and sustainable free market economy, charges that excessively suppress the free economic will must be boldly eliminated," delivering these instructions.
Statutory Charges Collection Reaches 24 Trillion Won... "The State Should Finance Costs Through Taxes"
Charges are not taxes but are mandatory payments under the law linked to specific public interest projects. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and others, the amount collected from statutory charges, which was 7.4 trillion won in 2002, has increased more than threefold to 24.6157 trillion won this year. During this period, the number of charge types decreased from 102 to 91, but the increase in various economic activities by the public and businesses led to the rise in collection amounts.
In response, despite concerns about reduced fiscal revenue, the government has set a policy to significantly reduce unreasonable charges and expand exemption targets to lessen the burden on the public and businesses. President Yoon also said, "Today's meeting will present a bill to amend the 'Basic Act on Charge Management,' which abolishes and integrates unreasonably imposed charges," but he reiterated the government's call for a re-examination, noting, "The five charges being reorganized this time have been rendered ineffective due to unconstitutional rulings or are being converted into association fees, so the burden on the public is not actually reduced."
President Yoon particularly pointed out, "While there are positive charges that prevent environmental pollution or promote public health, charges that are abused as 'quasi-taxes' or 'shadow taxes' remain everywhere." He further explained, "The principle is that the state finances costs through taxes and executes them. Charges are exceptionally imposed on acts that cause social costs."
'Serious Accident Punishment Act' Still Met with Silence in the National Assembly... "More Time Needed Considering Real Conditions"
President Yoon also expressed concerns about the 'Serious Accident Punishment Act,' which is set to take effect on the 27th. He said, "With the expansion to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, small businesses on the ground feel like they are being pushed onto thin ice," adding, "The government has prepared support measures for vulnerable sectors, and economic organizations have promised this is the last grace period request, but the National Assembly remains silent."
Previously, the government had pushed for a two-year postponement of the expansion of the application target, citing the burden and lack of preparation of small and micro enterprises, but the amendment failed to pass in the National Assembly plenary session on the 9th. President Yoon supported this by saying, "Protecting workers' safety is important, but punishment alone is not the answer," and "Considering the realistic conditions of small businesses, a little more time is needed."
He also showed his determination to focus more on managing people’s livelihoods. Referring to an article about so-called 'unregistered senior centers' surviving on just three briquettes, President Yoon urged, "I hope the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and local governments cooperate to promptly conduct a full survey of unregistered senior centers and devise effective support measures."
Regarding the 'Industrial Bank Act' for relocating KDB Industrial Bank to Busan, he emphasized, "It is absolutely necessary for our country to overcome the capital region's unipolar system and take a step forward." He also pointed to the 'Housing Act amendment' to abolish the mandatory residence requirement for houses under the price ceiling system, saying, "Homeless real demanders are being forced into situations where they have no choice but to break the law. Please accelerate from the people's perspective."
President Yoon Suk-yeol is declaring the opening of the Cabinet meeting held on the 16th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Kim Jong-un's 'Two Hostile States' Remark: "North Korea Has Admitted Itself as an Anti-National and Anti-Historical Group"
On the same day, President Yoon also voiced criticism of North Korea. He directly addressed Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, who defined inter-Korean relations as 'two hostile states,' saying, "The North Korean regime has admitted itself as an anti-national and anti-historical group."
Earlier, Kim Jong-un emphasized in his policy speech at the Supreme People's Assembly held in Pyongyang the day before that it is important to reflect in the constitution the issue of completely occupying, pacifying, and recovering the Republic of Korea in the event of war, according to the Korean Central News Agency's report on the same day.
Kim also said, "It is right to specify that education and ideological work should be strengthened so that the Republic of Korea is firmly regarded as the first hostile country and an immutable adversary. Expressions such as 'Northern Hemisphere, independence, peaceful reunification, and great national unity' in the constitution should now be deleted." At this meeting, North Korea abolished the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Bureau, which are organizations related to South Korea.
President Yoon also warned about North Korea's artillery firing and ballistic missile launches near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) this year, calling them "political provocations aimed at unsettling our people and fracturing the Republic of Korea," and reiterated, "If North Korea provokes, we will retaliate several times over."
He also called on the public to firmly establish a security perspective. President Yoon said, "If North Korea provokes, we will retaliate several times over. The disguised peace tactics that threaten 'war or peace' no longer work. Fake peace gained by yielding to threats of provocation only puts our security at greater risk," and urged, "Our people and government must unite to overcome the North Korean regime's deceptive tactics, propaganda, and agitation."
Unlike Kim Jong-un, President Yoon distinguished between the North Korean regime and its people, highlighting the legitimacy of the government's North Korea policy. He said, "What threatens the Republic of Korea is the North Korean regime, not the North Korean people," and added, "The North Korean people are the same ethnic group as us, with the right to enjoy freedom, human rights, and prosperity just like us. We must warmly embrace them."
Furthermore, since North Korean defectors are also citizens of the Republic of Korea, the government promised support for their settlement, while instructing the Ministry of Unification to promote the establishment of a North Korean Defectors' Day and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen international cooperation for their protection. President Yoon also pledged, "As the chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, I will actively play a mentoring role to warmly embrace North Korean defectors."
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