Financial investment tax debate intensifies as ruling and opposition parties clash in South Korea's National Assembly

The meeting of the National Assembly of Korea on the 11th became a battleground between the ruling and opposition parties over the Financial Investment Tax (commonly known as the Financial Investment Tax). The ruling party, People Power Party, strongly advocated the abolition of the tax, while the
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea emphasized the positive impact of introducing a financial investment tax. Rep. Park Sung Hoon of the People Power Party said, "It's a Lee Jae-myung tax, and some investors will be forced to pay the tax."
"There are talks that the Korea Discount alone could bring about a financial crisis in the domestic market," he said, adding, "With the Korea Discount not yet fully resolved, the damage caused by the withdrawal of large investors will be felt by individuals.
In contrast, Rep. Lim Kwang-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "The stock market tax system improvement report by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Korea Tax Institute is a very good example of this.
"The imposition of a financial investment tax would not reduce investment in risky assets, but rather could lead to the promotion of investment. The introduction of a financial investment tax would not cause stock prices to fall.
The ruling and opposition parties also clashed fiercely over who should take responsibility for the current and previous administrations' economic situation. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jung-bae said, "The incompetent and irresponsible Moon Jae-in administration is in charge of running businesses.
"This has caused hardships for the people, and household and national debts have increased to record highs, pushing the country to the brink of bankruptcy," said Lee Eun-jiu, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea.
"President Yoon Seok-yeol says the economy is going well. I find that hard to believe," he said, adding, "Domestic demand is not being promoted well, and household debt is a big problem."
In relation to this, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said, "Overall household debt is stable," and "We are cautiously viewing the increasing trend in housing loans."
He said.