Han Dong-hoon Criticizes Tax Reform Plan, Targeting Jin Sung-jun, Policy Committee Chairman

Amid the government's announcement of a tax reform plan that includes increases in securities transaction tax and corporate tax, former representative of the People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, has directly criticized Jin Sung-jun, the policy committee chairman of the Democratic Party.

Former representative Han pointed out that this tax reform plan was essentially carried out under the leadership of Chairman Jin.

On the 1st, former representative Han stated on his Facebook, "I understand that the securities transaction tax increase and the expansion of the capital gains tax base are being led by Chairman Jin Sung-jun, who is a part of the Democratic Party's 'tax increase policy that goes against public sentiment and undermines the stock market.'"

He continued, "Chairman Jin declared on a past broadcast that 'I have never invested in stocks.' From the perspective of desperate youth and small investors, that is a truly terrifying statement that completely dismisses their plight."

Main Contents of the Tax Reform Plan and Market Response

According to the tax reform plan announced by the government on the 31st of last month, the current securities transaction tax rate of 0.15% (including the special rural tax) will be increased to 0.20%, and the threshold for capital gains tax for major shareholders will be strengthened from the current 5 billion won to 1 billion won.

Additionally, the corporate tax rate will be uniformly increased by 1 percentage point across all tax brackets, raising the tax rate for the highest bracket (companies with operating profits exceeding 300 billion won) from the previous 24% to 25%.

The reason former representative Han specifically mentioned Chairman Jin appears to be related to Jin's recent insistence that the criteria for imposing capital gains tax on stocks should be tightened, thereby reinforcing the ‘major shareholder requirement.’

Chairman Jin emphasized, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration raised the major shareholder threshold to 5 billion won while trying to revitalize the stock market. We need to normalize the major shareholder requirement back to 1 billion won."

He asserted, "It is time to restore tax justice through a fair tax reform for the majority of citizens, rather than tax cuts for stock billionaires."

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee So-young, also a member of the same party, disagreed with Chairman Jin, stating that it is difficult to view those holding 1 billion won in stocks as 'major shareholders.'

Following the announcement of the tax reform plan, the domestic stock market experienced a significant shock.

As of 2 PM on the 1st, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ both plummeted by more than 3%, with the KOSPI dropping below the 3,200 mark and KOSDAQ below 800. Notably, the KOSPI's decline of over 3% during trading marked the largest drop since the inception of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

In this context, former representative Han explained through his YouTube channel, "The target for (major shareholders) taxation will be finalized by the end of the year. Those who do not wish to qualify as targets will sell off their stocks. The stock price drops."

He particularly expressed concern about the impacts on small investors, stating, "The KOSDAQ has a small amount of stock overall, so it is greatly affected. What will happen to the retail investors?"

He criticized, "If such policies suppress investment sentiment, whose interests are they serving?"

Image Sources: Han Dong-hoon / News1, Facebook 'Han Dong-hoon', Jin Sung-jun / News1