February 25, 2025
Seoul – With early presidential elections looming over their minds, here rivals locked in the corner on a tough issue – an overhaul of the country's 25-year-old estate tax system.
The government and the ruling party are working to lower the highest tax rate, currently at a legacy of more than 3 billion won ($2.1 million) of 50% to 40%, while lowering the threshold for the highest tax rate to 1 billion won.
Lead opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung and the Democrats expressed disagreement over the ideas of the conservative bloc, saying the change would primarily benefit super Sweden. Instead, Lee recently made a revision that focused on not imposing inheritance tax on properties worth up to 1.8 billion won.
Tensions between South Korea's Democratic Party and the People's Power Party have escalated in recent days, and Lee asked the ruling party leader Kweon Seong-dong to join him on Sunday to join him in a television debate on inheritance tax issues. Kweon agreed on Monday to join in on their terms of discussing “not just estate tax, but all the issues.”
This comes after Lee’s criticism of the People’s Power Party’s tax overhaul plan, calling it a “super tax cut” that failed to benefit the middle class.
“The People's Power Party has revealed (it's intention) to put a tax cut on super Swedish tax cuts by reducing the maximum tax rate from 50% to 40%,” the main opposition leader wrote on Facebook.
“(current inheritance tax rate) Technically, the benefits of 6 billion won assets. I asked the floor head of the far-right uprising party Kweon Seong-Dong, why are they planning to reduce assets of more than 6 billion won by 10%?” Added.
The People's Power Party fought back on Monday, accusing Lee of replicating the Conservative Party's economic policies but distorting them for their own benefit.
“If Democrats and Lee pass the Conservative policies and get the right results, that’s not a problem. But if they only selectively copy the parts they like, they have the potential to deviate from the right path.
Kwon slams Lee's obvious attempt to win the favor of businesses and unions.
“Lee claimed in front of the company that their growth is the national economic growth… When he met with the Federation of South Korean Trade Unions, he told them that we only work four days a week and called the largest inheritance tax rate lowered Super Swedish ” he added.
After comments earlier this month, Lee tagged the Democratic Party’s “economic-centric” and “centrically conservative” as Lee, who made several related moves, such as a visit to Hyundai Automobile Manufacturing in Asan, southern Zhengzhou last week, last week’s visit to Hyundai Automobile Manufacturing in southern Zhengzhou, South Zhengzhou, last week factory. That same week, Lee visited the headquarters of two of the largest Umbrella unions in the United States to calm their concerns about the conference, which could allow chip makers to adopt more flexible working hours.
A political expert who calls Lee the latest attempt to attract moderate middle-class voters.
“Lee is expected to take further steps to win the hearts of middle-class and middle-class voters by pursuing his own inheritance tax overhaul, which he claims will focus on the middle class,” said political commentator Park.
The Yoon Suk Yeol government has been working to revamp the inheritance tax system that has not been updated since 2000. The system has been criticized by critics for its high rates, the world's second highest criticism of Japan – and post-Japanese criticism – in local companies, including the risk of double taxation.
