On the 24th, the People Power Party proposed a thorough debate on major issues related to politics, economy, and society with floor leader Kweon Seong-dong regarding Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader. When Lee proposed a public debate to Kweon over issues regarding the inheritance tax reform, Kweon suggested discussing other issues, including the inheritance tax.
Kim Dae-sik, the chief spokesperson for the National Assembly, stated after an emergency meeting that day, “Lee is continuously requesting discussions with Kweon Seong-dong, and I agree and support having an indefinite one-on-one debate.”
Kweon dismissed Lee’s rude public inquiry regarding the ‘inheritance tax debate’ proposal the previous day, saying, “It’s not worth responding to,” but later changed his position to agree to the debate. This is interpreted as an intention not to lose policy leadership through a counterproposal.
The chief spokesperson Kim proposed, “We are open on format and subject. We suggest having a thorough debate not only on the inheritance tax but also on current issues across all aspects of politics, economy, society, and culture.”
He added, “If we can exclude hostile language that is insultingly offensive like ‘far-right chaos party,’ we can gladly participate.”
Both parties agree on expanding the personal exemption limit for the inheritance tax (uniform exemption from 500 million won to 800 million won, spouse exemption from 500 million won to 1 billion won). However, the ruling party states that discussions should also include lowering the top rate of inheritance tax (from 50% to 40%) and expanding the family business inheritance exemption to maintain corporate competitiveness. In contrast, the Democratic Party opposes lowering the top rate of inheritance tax, calling it a 'tax cut for the super-rich.'