Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party proposed an amendment to the income tax law that raises the stock transfer income tax standard for major shareholders to 10 billion won.
On the 2nd, Park held a press conference at the National Assembly and noted that "the purpose is to establish a consistent standard under the law that matches the size of our country's economy and to reduce confusion and harm to the stock market and investors," emphasizing that the major shareholder standard for the stock transfer income tax should be increased to 10 billion won.
The standard for major shareholders subject to the stock transfer income tax is determined by presidential decree. It was set at 1 billion won during the administration of Moon Jae-in, and was raised to 5 billion won during the administration of Yoon Suk-yeol last year. Since the administration of Lee Jae-myung, there have been discussions about lowering it again to 1 billion won due to declining tax revenues.
Stock investors are expressing concerns that strengthening the major shareholder criteria could create confusion in the market. In fact, an analysis conducted by Representative Park Soo-young's office on statistics from the Korea Exchange revealed that individual investors sold an average of 4.2 trillion won in stocks during the last five days before the 2 trading days at the end of the Moon Jae-in administration. In contrast, last year, when the major shareholder standard was raised to 5 billion won, they actually net purchased 313.9 billion won. Park indicated that "if the government lowers the major shareholder standard for the stock transfer tax to 1 billion won again, a flood of year-end sales could occur once more."
Park pointed out that the size of our economy should also be taken into account. The major shareholder standard was first set at over 10 billion won during the administration of Kim Dae-jung in 2000. Although the economy has continued to grow, the standard for major shareholders has actually been decreasing.
Furthermore, among major advanced countries, Korea is the only one that grants major shareholder status based on stock ownership amounts and imposes taxes such as the capital gains tax. Park stated that "compared to 2000, per capita GDP has increased more than 3.6 times, and the KOSPI index has now surpassed 3,000 points," adding that "it is necessary to raise the major shareholder standard to match the economic level of our country and global standards."
He further remarked that "the Lee Jae-myung administration is shouting 'KOSPI 5000' on the one hand while behaving inconsistently on the other, shaking up the stock market," asserting that "I will legislate a differentiated 'real value-up' policy from the Lee Jae-myung administration to lead investment revitalization and protect investors such as the Donghak Ants."