Financial Market Value-Up Task... "Incentives Needed for Excellent Companies"

KCCI Hosts Lecture by FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young
Discussion on the Need for Value-Up Tax Incentives Blocked by Opposition Party

Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated, "To address structural issues in the Korean economy such as the decline in potential growth rate and undervaluation of the capital market, the role of the capital market in supporting corporate financing, innovative growth, and the public’s stable asset income is extremely important."

Vice Chairman Kim made these remarks during a lecture on "Policy Trends Related to Capital Market Advancement" at the 42nd plenary meeting of the Financial Industry Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held on the morning of the 28th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul. He said, "From this perspective, we will consistently pursue the value-up policy that began last year," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that value-up tax incentives for excellent companies, which have not yet been introduced, can pass through the National Assembly."

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Yonhap News Agency

Vice Chairman Kim emphasized, "Just as with the stock market, value-up is more about mid- to long-term structural improvement than short-term stock price boosting," adding, "For this to happen, it will be a crucial factor for the financial sector to effectively support corporate innovation activities and promote the spread of a long-term investment culture among the public."

Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of the Financial Industry Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group), said, "The value-up policy is an important challenge facing Korean finance and an area of opportunity to open the future of the financial industry," adding, "Based on Vice Chairman Kim So-young’s lecture, I hope we can explore together the roles the financial industry should play."

At the meeting, the Financial Industry Committee of the Chamber proposed policy improvement tasks for the advancement of the capital market and financial industry, including ▲ introduction and retroactive application of tax incentives for value-up excellent companies ▲ introduction of tax benefits for long-term stock holdings ▲ improvement of the separation of banking and commerce regulations. Among these, the tax incentives for value-up excellent companies were pursued by the government last year through systems such as tax credits and separate taxation on dividend income but were scrapped due to opposition from the opposition party. So far, 124 listed companies have disclosed value-up plans, but these are mainly concentrated among large corporations and financial holding companies. Participation in value-up is relatively low, with only 23 KOSDAQ-listed companies involved.

Meanwhile, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to expand the Financial Industry Committee meetings attended by all members in the future. Starting with this year’s first meeting, the plan is to increase direct communication between financial companies and the government and strengthen the role as a bridge negotiating with the government across industries. The Financial Industry Committee, one of the 13 committees under the Chamber, was launched in 2007 to serve as a focal point for industry on financial issues.

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