Presidential Office: "If the Financial Investment Tax is Implemented, 14 Million Citizens Will Suffer... National Assembly Must Discuss Abolition"

Yongsan "Majority of the Public Agree on Abolishing the Financial Investment Tax"
"Financial Investment Tax May Cause Stock Price Decline"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 30th of last month at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office stated that if the Financial Investment Income Tax (FIIT) is implemented, ordinary citizen investors will suffer losses, urging the National Assembly to take a proactive stance and promptly discuss the policy to abolish the FIIT.

On the afternoon of the 7th, the Presidential Office explained through a spokesperson's announcement, "It is undesirable for uncertainty regarding the implementation of the system to persist when the majority of the public agrees on abolishing the FIIT."

The Presidential Office pointed out, "Recently, due to concerns over a hard landing of the U.S. economy and geopolitical risks, global stock markets have been fluctuating, increasing volatility in international financial markets, which has significantly impacted our stock market as well," adding, "In this situation, if the FIIT, which could cause stock prices to fall, is forcibly implemented, 14 million ordinary citizen investors, most of whom are middle class, will suffer losses."

With the Democratic Party of Korea pushing for the introduction of the FIIT, the Presidential Office has also joined efforts to support the abolition of the FIIT.

Earlier, the People Power Party and the government emphasized at a party-government meeting held at the National Assembly on the 6th that the opposition party should cooperate in abolishing the FIIT. This was based on the concern that implementing the FIIT amid the domestic stock market experiencing its largest-ever decline due to fears of a U.S. economic recession on the 5th would further destabilize the domestic stock market.

At that time, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, said, "In a situation where global stock markets are unstable in various ways, if South Korea alone forcibly implements the FIIT, which would create a significant momentum for stock price decline, it would be like deliberately creating a 'perfect storm.' This time, we must discuss the abolition of the FIIT on a bipartisan basis."

Although the Democratic Party initially aimed to implement the FIIT starting next year, it has shown a cautious stance as public opinion for abolishing the FIIT has recently increased. The party had originally planned to hold a discussion on the FIIT on this day but postponed it.