President Lee: "The More Difficult the Sugar Levy Issue, the More We Need Discussion"

Lee Shares SNS Message on February 1
"Rejects Unreasonable Claims and Distortion"

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Senior Secretary Meeting held at the Blue House on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News

On February 1, President Lee Jaemyung addressed the issue of the sugar levy, stating, "The more difficult the issue, the more we need to have discussions."

On this day, through his social networking service (SNS), President Lee remarked, "Difficult issues with complex, intertwined interests-such as the sugar levy, real estate tax reform, and institutional reforms to alleviate polarization-are often subject to distortion and misunderstanding." He emphasized the need for open discussion on such matters.

President Lee pointed out, "Frank debate and public discourse based on accurate logic, factual relationships, and real-life examples are essential," adding, "It is also crucial to ensure that opposing views can be expressed confidently and properly in the public forum."

Together with his post, President Lee shared an article reporting that the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recommended a sugar tax. He explained that the sugar levy is "a system designed to reduce the overconsumption of sugar, which causes adult diseases, by imposing a health surcharge on certain cases of excessive use, and using the collected funds for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by sugar overconsumption, thereby reducing the health insurance burden on the general public."

He continued, "I look forward to a deeper and more rational debate on whether to introduce this system. I reject unconditional opposition or unreasonable manipulation and distortion that seeks to frame the issue solely as a tax increase, ignoring the nation's future and equitable health insurance contributions for the sake of political gain."