After Lee Jae-myung, the president, on the 7th blasted a report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KORCHAM) on social media as "intentional fake news," saying it was wrong, the People Power Party on the 8th criticized, saying, "The presidency is not a position to drop coordinates and hand down moral condemnation."
On this day, Chief Spokesperson Park Seong-hoon said in a commentary, "While it is fair to question the propriety of citing faulty statistics, a president personally branding an economic group established by law as an 'enemy of democracy' is a threat that any thought different from President Lee's should not even be voiced."
Park added, "The long-raised problem that, due to the world's highest level of inheritance tax and rigid regulatory and labor environments, concerns are growing about 'de-Korea' by businesspeople and capital has been pointed out for a long time." Park went on, "A normal president should first have squarely faced the fact that if the de-Korea trend by corporations continues, growth engines will weaken and job policies will inevitably ring hollow."
Chief Spokesperson Park also said, "The president is in a position to be criticized. In a democratic society, the role of a power holder is to rebut, explain, and demand verification, not to drop 'coordinates' and deliver moral condemnation."
Spokesperson Cho Yong-sul also said in a commentary, "While it was inappropriate that KORCHAM sparked controversy without sufficient verification, President Lee used extreme language to drop coordinates by calling it 'intentional fake news' toward KORCHAM." Cho continued, "Labeling someone an 'enemy' over mistakes or differences of opinion in terms of statistics and policy is, literally, an 'overreach.'"
Earlier, KORCHAM, citing data from British immigration consultancy Henley & Partners on the 4th, said, "The provisional annual net outflow of Korean high-net-worth individuals surged from 1,200 in 2024 to 2,400 in 2025, ranking fourth in the world after the United Kingdom, China, and India." KORCHAM also said, "An inheritance tax of '50% to 60%' can act as a main factor accelerating the overseas flight of capital."
A news outlet published an article questioning the credibility of the report. The outlet said, "The report in question by 'British immigration consultancy Henley & Partners' does not mention inheritance tax." It added, "The figure of 2,400 is also a 'provisional estimate,' and its credibility is being questioned." It went on, "A company called 'Henley & Partners' is merely an agency that consults on 'immigration for the wealthy' and a lobbying firm."
The president, sharing this article on social media the previous day, said, "Producing and spreading fake news to pursue private gain and attack government policy deserves condemnation." The president added, "We must hold them strictly accountable and establish measures to prevent a recurrence." Three hours later, KORCHAM issued an apology.