Park Soo-young: "I Agree with Lee Kwang-jae on Tax Reform... Stealth Tax Hikes Must Be Addressed"

"Outdated Tax Code Must Be Fully Overhauled to Reflect Today’s Realities"

On October 7, Soo-young Park, a member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, stated that he and Gwang-jae Lee, the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts Chairman from the Democratic Party, share a consensus on the need to update outdated taxation standards. Park asserted, "We must address the silent, stealth tax increases that have continued for decades."

Soo-young Park, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

At a press conference held at the National Assembly press center that day, Park said, "Chairman Gwang-jae Lee called for the modernization of outdated taxation standards, and I greatly welcome this." He further emphasized the need for tax reform, stating, "While the people move toward the future, the tax system cannot remain in the past."

Park pointed out, "As times change, the value of money and assets shifts." He continued, "Yet, the tax code remains in the past. The 2.5 million won basic exemption for capital gains tax has been unchanged for 31 years since 1996; the 500 million won general inheritance tax exemption and the 500 million won minimum for spousal inheritance tax exemption have remained the same for 30 years since 1997." He also noted that although income tax has changed several times, "it fails to reflect asset value increases and inflation."

Park explained, "During this period, the number of people subject to inheritance tax increased 16-fold from about 1,300 in 2000 to 22,500 last year. The number of employees with annual salaries exceeding 100 million won also rose from about 190,000 in 2009 to 1.54 million in 2024, while income tax revenue from employment increased more than threefold from 1.34 trillion won to about 4.1 trillion won." He pointed out, "As prices, wages, and asset values surge while the tax system remains unchanged, the tax burden has increased even without raising tax rates."

Park called for an end to these silent tax hikes and said, "We also need to move beyond the outdated frame of so-called 'tax cuts for the rich.'" He added, "Updating decades-old systems to match current realities is the true path to tax justice and to upholding the principle of ability to pay. The government must convince the people that they are paying taxes in line with their real-life circumstances and abilities."

Addressing the Democratic Party, he stated, "I urge you to join Chairman Lee and me in a full-scale overhaul of longstanding systems like the income tax, inheritance tax, and gift tax to reduce the tax burden on the people." He continued, "I will devote all efforts to comprehensive reform of the outdated tax code that has been holding back the public and will continue to pursue tax reduction policies."

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