Inheritance Tax Statistics "Fake News" Controversy Widens
Government Audit Triggers Self-Reform by Business Groups and Introduction of External Expert Verification
Opposition Warns of "Suppression of Criticism"
Kim Jeonggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, is presiding over an emergency meeting to review urgent issues with business organizations on the morning of the 9th in the conference room of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Participants shared their assessment of the fake news incident triggered by a Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry press release regarding inheritance tax, and discussed measures to prevent similar cases from recurring. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeonggwan has announced that he will launch a full-scale audit in connection with the controversy over the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's citation of statistics on the "overseas outflow of high-net-worth individuals." The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry also issued an official apology and pledged to significantly strengthen its internal verification system.
On the 9th, Minister Kim held an emergency meeting to review urgent issues with the executive vice chairmen of six business organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and said regarding the so-called "fake news" controversy triggered by a recent press release from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "As the minister in charge of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I deeply apologize to the public."
He went on to say that the phrase "fourth in the world in outflow of wealthy individuals due to inheritance tax burden" was "a case in which a statutory economic organization forgot its public duties and responsibilities," adding that it was "a serious matter that has thrown the public and the market into confusion and undermined trust in the overall policy environment."
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has immediately begun an audit of the entire process, from drafting the press release, to internal verification, to external distribution, and plans to consider disciplinary action against those responsible and even legal measures, depending on the results of the audit. The ministry explained that this means it intends to pursue institutional accountability, going beyond a mere level of clarification.
Minister Kim particularly criticized the fact that the source of the statistics cited by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry was not a professional research institute but only an estimate by an immigration consulting firm, and that the material did not mention inheritance tax anywhere, yet the chamber arbitrarily interpreted and linked it to the inheritance tax issue. He also refuted the claim in the press release that "2,400 domestic millionaires have left the country over the past year," saying, "According to National Tax Service statistics, the annual average is only about 139, which is clearly different from the facts."
Park Iljun, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, bows his head in apology at an emergency meeting of business organizations to review urgent issues held at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News
The meeting was convened to examine on-the-ground difficulties faced by business organizations and policy gaps at a time when external uncertainties are increasing, including tariff negotiations with the United States and a strong dollar-won exchange rate. Six organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Middle Market Enterprises Association, attended and reportedly shared the view that there is a need for a joint response to changes in the trade environment, while also recognizing the gravity of the current issue in that the reliability of statistics and policy messages is directly linked to market stability. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also announced that, starting at the end of this month, it will institutionalize regular policy roundtables with major organizations and associations to establish constant communication between government policy and industrial sites.
In tandem with the government's launch of an audit, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued an official statement the same day, declaring that it would completely overhaul its internal verification system. The chamber stated, "We take this matter extremely seriously, and we will significantly strengthen our internal verification system across the entire process of drafting and distributing external announcements to prevent similar cases from recurring in the future." As a first step, it will immediately implement training programs for staff in charge of surveys and research to improve their ability to verify the reliability of statistics and enhance analytical capabilities, and it plans to expand related training to all employees.
To make multi-layered verification of facts and statistics mandatory, the chamber appointed Park Yangsoo, head of the KCCI Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI), who has strong statistical analysis capabilities, as the executive in charge of fact-checking. Park is an economic statistics expert who previously served as Director General of the Economic Statistics Department and as head of the Economic Research Institute at the Bank of Korea, and has headed the KCCI SGI since 2023. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry also plans to introduce an independent verification system utilizing external experts to improve the accuracy and reliability of its announcements.
Park Iljun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, listens to remarks by Kim Jeonggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, at an emergency meeting to review urgent issues for economic organizations held on the 9th at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won is also said to have strongly reprimanded the secretariat after receiving a report on the matter during a business trip to the United States, saying, "As a responsible institution, we should have examined the data more closely." The chamber has stated that, separate from the audit by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it will identify where responsibility lies and take appropriate measures on its own. It is also reported that there are internal calls to reexamine even the way the research and statistics divisions are organized and operated.
Earlier, on February 3, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a press release titled "Analysis of Inheritance Tax Revenue Outlook and Study on Diversifying Payment Methods," in which it announced that the number of high-net-worth individuals who left Korea due to the inheritance tax burden had surged to 2,400. However, controversy grew as criticism mounted that the survey criteria and methods of the British immigration consulting firm cited as the basis were inadequate. Concerns also followed that, at a time when discussions on reforming the inheritance tax system are underway, this figure could influence the formation of public opinion.
On February 7, President Lee Jaemyung wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "The act of fabricating and spreading fake news to pursue private interests and attack government policy deserves condemnation," adding, "It is unbelievable that the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a statutory organization established by law, is openly engaging in such behavior." He went on to say, "Deliberate fake news intended to cloud the judgment of the sovereign people is an enemy of democracy," strongly denouncing the incident.
Following the president's criticism, senior government officials also spoke out one after another. Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol pointed out on social media, "The claim that 2,400 wealthy people are leaving Korea because of the inheritance tax burden is fake news. The estimate is based on statistics whose reliability is highly questionable." National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwanghyun also stated, "Over the past three years, the annual average number of people filing overseas migration reports was about 2,904, and among them, the annual average number of those reporting assets of 1 billion won or more was only 139, so the statistics have been distorted."
As the government's audit and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's own reform measures proceed simultaneously, disagreements continue within political circles over the level of response. The opposition camp argues that it is an excessive response for the government to label the issue as "fake news" and go so far as to raise the prospect of disciplinary action and an audit. In a commentary, Park Sunghoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said, "The problem of misquoting statistics can be corrected, but it is not appropriate for the president and the government to personally step in and corner a statutory economic organization," adding, "The government should respond with fact-checking and open debate rather than suppressing criticism." The ruling camp, by contrast, maintains that "the greater the public influence of an organization, the stricter the responsibility that follows for its use of statistics," and that the launch of an audit is an unavoidable measure.
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