Lee Jae-myung: "Abolish securities transaction tax paid equally by ants and rich... An economic president who knows the market must be elected"

Candidate Lee Jae-myung
"Will Abolish Securities Transaction Tax"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he would "abolish the securities transaction tax, which is imposed equally on both small investors and the wealthy."

On the 21st, Lee posted on social media (SNS), "Lee Jae-myung, who truly understands the market, will protect small investors and create new opportunities," presenting capital market pledges including the abolition of the securities transaction tax.

Lee stated that he would abolish the securities transaction tax in connection with changes to the financial investment income tax. He explained the rationale by saying, "If conglomerates sell stocks they hold at a high price and make a profit, they should naturally pay taxes," adding, "This is not about abolishing the capital gains tax for the wealthy, but about abolishing the securities transaction tax that is imposed equally on both small investors and the wealthy." He also mentioned, "We will prepare a plan to utilize financial income tax as a resource for the special rural tax imposed on securities transaction amounts in the KOSPI market to ensure there is no shortage in the future."

Regarding the short-selling system, he said, "We will improve the short-selling system, which is disadvantageous to individuals in terms of borrowing periods and collateral ratios, and strengthen monitoring of illegal short-selling activities to impose severe penalties upon detection." Additionally, Lee proposed capital market pledges such as ▲expanding the stock purchase ratio of pension funds, ▲protecting small shareholders (introducing a comprehensive damage relief system), and ▲raising the allocation ratio for general public subscription in public offerings from 25% to 30%.

Lee emphasized, "A competent economic president who truly understands the market must be elected so that the expectation of stock price recovery can work, making it possible to reach a composite stock price index of 5,000 points." He particularly noted, "On Black Thursday at the end of January, the KOSPI plunged more than 3% in a single day. It was the lowest point in 14 months. External adverse factors such as the war crisis surrounding Ukraine and the US's announcement of interest rate hikes are making our stock market even more unstable."

He added, "If we can turn this crisis into momentum, our country's stock market will be completely transformed," emphasizing, "I, Lee Jae-myung, who truly understands the market, will protect small investors and create new opportunities."

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