Hong Nam-ki at OECD Ministerial Council: "Hope to Establish Digital Tax Principles by July"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, attended the OECD Ministerial Council meeting via video conference on the 31st and expressed hope that principles for the digital tax would be established by July this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong attended the Ministerial Council meeting held under the theme "Shared Values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future" and stated in his opening remarks, "As part of efforts to adapt to the digital economy, discussions on the digital tax, a global tax standard for the digital economy centered on the OECD, are underway," adding, "I hope that clear and reasonable principles that align with the original intent of the digital tax and can prevent base erosion among countries will be established by July this year."

He then presented three directions for future international cooperation: resilience, inclusiveness, and innovation. Hong introduced, "The OECD's economic forecast that the global economy will grow by 5.8% this year reflects a faster-than-expected recovery," and added, "Korea achieved one of the highest growth rates among OECD countries, recovering to pre-crisis GDP levels with a 1.6% growth rate in the first quarter." He continued, "To firmly establish this upturn, fundamentally, strengthening resilience in three areas?restoring supply chains, restoring multilateralism, and restoring international mobility?is urgent," explaining, "Strengthening these resilience areas will serve as a cornerstone for the recovery of global trade and investment." Hong also welcomed "the progress in discussions on international mobility initiatives at the OECD level and the swift and equitable distribution of vaccines."

He also emphasized enhancing inclusiveness to reduce disparities between countries and social classes. He said, "In terms of reducing disparities between social classes, I welcome the OECD’s focus on employment and housing inequalities faced by vulnerable groups such as youth and women," and predicted, "The OECD’s Housing Policy Guidelines report and the revision of the Youth Action Plan (announced in 2013) will greatly assist governments in formulating real estate policies and securing trust from the youth toward government policies."

Furthermore, he stated, "We must address uneven recovery between countries through support for low-income countries," adding, "Along with debt repayment deferrals and debt restructuring measures, we will focus on inclusive ODA to improve poor healthcare conditions and bridge the digital divide."

Meanwhile, the meeting was attended by representatives from 38 OECD member countries, as well as the Korean government delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki, Yoon Tae-sik, Director General for International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Lee Sung-ho, Economic Diplomacy Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.