 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= King Myungjoo, Kim Sangjin] Seoul, Aug. 7 — Alpha Biz – South Korea’s Democratic Party has effectively decided to reject the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s plan to impose capital gains tax on major shareholders holding over KRW 1 billion (approx. USD 770,000) in a single stock, leaving the final decision in the hands of the president.
Originally, the party had leaned toward supporting the government’s proposal, which set a KRW 1 billion threshold for capital gains taxation per stock. However, due to growing opposition from retail investors and internal criticism within the party, the proposal has been effectively scrapped.
According to Alpha Biz reporting, Democratic Party Leader Jung Cheong-rae and senior party officials have agreed to convey to the presidential office their stance that implementing the proposed KRW 1 billion threshold is no longer viable.
 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
A senior Democratic lawmaker stated in a phone interview, “The two options (Plan A and Plan B) that were initially under consideration have both been discarded. The party is likely to relay only public and internal opposition to the proposed threshold reduction, leaving the final decision up to the president.”
Previously, Democratic Party Policy Chairperson Han Jeong-ae had been tasked by Party Leader Jung to present two options: Plan A, maintaining the current threshold of KRW 5 billion, and Plan B, lowering it to a range between KRW 2 billion and KRW 3 billion.
Kang Kwan-woo, former Executive Director at Morgan Stanley and current CEO of The Premier, commented, “The Democratic Party has effectively declared the Ministry’s proposal null and void. This leaves the final call on the capital gains tax threshold for major shareholders to the president.”
This issue continues to attract significant public interest as it directly impacts the taxation of individual investors holding large stock positions in South Korea.
Alphabiz 강명주 기자(press@alphabiz.co.kr)
