President Lee to Critics of Exclusion from Family Business Inheritance Tax Deduction: "Is It Fair to Grant Hundreds of Billions in Exemptions to These Industries?"

President Lee Jae-myung on August 13 responded to media reports criticizing the reduction of businesses eligible for the family business inheritance tax deduction, saying, "Is it fair to continue providing hundreds of billions of won in inheritance tax breaks for these types of industries?"

On the same day, President Lee posted on his X account (formerly Twitter), stating, "Reducing unjust tax deductions is the path toward normalizing the taxation system." The article he shared discussed business owners who have been excluded from the list of eligible enterprises for the family business inheritance tax deduction, and their opposition to this decision.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the future growth engine '7 Major SEED' briefing session held at the Blue House on August 12, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

The family business inheritance tax deduction is a system by which children who inherit companies run by their parents can be exempted from inheritance tax up to a maximum of 60 billion won. However, as criticism arose that this was being abused as a means to avoid taxes, the government decided to tighten the requirements for deduction eligibility, excluding businesses such as parking lots, warehouse operations, and taxi businesses from the list.

During a Cabinet meeting on April 6, President Lee also remarked, "How is a parking lot a family business?" He added, "If you own 50 billion won in real estate, you can set up a parking lot, operate it for a while, and after 10 years, pass it on without paying taxes." He then instructed officials to "significantly narrow the scope of eligible businesses."

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