South Korea’s president scraps plan to expand tax on stock investments

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Thursday he did not see a need to follow through on a plan to revise the country’s capital gains taxes intended to boost tax revenue from stock investors and that he would leave it up to parliament to decide.
Lee told a press conference he now considered it unnecessary to lower the threshold defining “large shareholders” subject to paying capital gains tax. The planned tax change has caused a public backlash among many South Korean investors.
“If it causes damage to the stock market, I don’t think it is necessary to lower the threshold to 1 billion (won) from 5 billion,” Lee said, reaffirming the administration’s will to pursue reforms to revitalise the market.