President Lee: "It Is Desirable to Accept Public Objections to the Tax Reform Proposal"

President Lee Jae-myung Presides Over Cabinet Meeting on August 11
Hints at Adjustments to Tax Reform Plans Including Real Estate and ISA
Tells Deputy Prime Minister, "Just Crawl If You Have To"

President Lee Jae-myung stated on August 11 regarding the tax reform proposal, "It is desirable to accept opposing views when there is disagreement while listening to public opinion." This is interpreted as his intention to revise some aspects of the tax reform plan, particularly those related to real estate that have faced strong opposition.

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong on this day, President Lee further said, "(Just because the government has made a decision) does not mean that carrying it out as is always represents consistency." He emphasized, "If you criticize simply for the sake of criticism with a single, uniform standard, social problems cannot be resolved," and added, "If different opinions emerge and are reasonable, the right attitude is to incorporate them."

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong on August 11, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee’s remarks appear to have the recent controversy over real estate tax reform measures in mind. The government is currently promoting a plan to lower the comprehensive real estate tax threshold for non-resident single homeowners from the current 1.2 billion won to 900 million won, and to apply the same standard for the tax calculation to married couples who co-own a single home as that for multiple homeowners. However, public dissatisfaction has been mounting, as thousands of comments requesting revisions have been submitted within just a few days after the publication of the tax bill draft.

There is also a high likelihood that the Individual Savings Account (ISA) tax reform plan will be revised. The government announced it would limit the ISA maturity extension—which previously could be extended indefinitely after just three years—to five years, and would introduce a new 'productive finance ISA' that cannot be used to invest in foreign exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as U.S. stocks. Criticism has arisen among investors as the periodic closure of accounts would reduce the compounding effect, and because the new ISA would prohibit the purchase of overseas ETFs, which is seen as unreasonable.

In this regard, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul explained, "While we have submitted the tax bill, it is not the finalized version by the government," adding, "We will collect sufficient opinions from the public until the 20th, make further revisions, submit the revised bill to the National Assembly, and increase the completeness of the bill as lawmakers supplement it."

President Lee responded, "Anyone who deals with taxes will inevitably face criticism when changing the tax system," noting, "Those who benefit from the changes tend to remain silent, while those whose burden increases develop strong resentment." He then joked, with a laugh, "Just crawl everywhere, no matter what," to which Vice Prime Minister Koo smiled and replied, "Yes, I understand."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.