Joo Jinwoo Criticizes President Lee's 'Sugar Tax' Proposal: "Only Ordinary Citizens Will Suffer... Will There Be a Salt Tax Too?"

As President Lee Jaemyung proposed introducing a so-called 'sugar tax' on food and beverages containing excessive amounts of sugar or sweeteners, Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, argued that "the sugar tax will inevitably be passed on to prices, ultimately harming only ordinary citizens."

Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the 'sugar tax' proposed by President Lee Jae-myung, saying, "Taxes should not be increased indiscriminately without deliberation." Photo by Hyunmin Kim

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On the 28th, Assemblyman Joo wrote on his social media, "Taxes should not be increased indiscriminately without deliberation," adding, "Although securing funding for public healthcare has been cited as the justification, in the end, the sugar tax will inevitably be reflected in product prices. This amounts to increasing the tax burden on the public."

He continued, "Due to the widespread distribution of cash handouts and the issuance of deficit-financing government bonds, both the exchange rate and prices have already soared. If taxes are repeatedly increased under these circumstances, the livelihoods of ordinary people will suffer a fatal blow." He further warned, "Introducing the sugar tax is only the beginning. By that logic, is eating salty food healthy? Will there be a salt tax as well?"

Earlier that day, President Lee shared an article from the Seoul Newspaper on X (formerly Twitter), which introduced the results of a public opinion poll regarding the sugar tax. He wrote, "Just as with tobacco, we can curb sugar consumption through a sugar levy and reinvest the proceeds to strengthen regional and public healthcare. What do you think?"

Photo of a citizen selecting sugar at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul on the 28th to help readers understand the article. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The sugar tax is mainly implemented to prevent diseases such as obesity and diabetes and to promote public health, and has been adopted in over 120 countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Recently, discussions on introducing a sugar tax have also been taking place in Korea. According to a survey conducted by the Health Culture Project Group at Seoul National University from January 12 to 19 among 1,030 citizens, 80.1% responded in favor of introducing a sugar tax.

Jung Taeho, a Democratic Party lawmaker and ruling party secretary of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee, plans to hold a 'National Assembly Forum on Excessive Sugar Use Levy' on February 12 to discuss ways to introduce the sugar tax. Although the ruling party has not yet decided whether to pursue the sugar tax, if it is eventually legislated, further discussions will be needed to determine whether it will be introduced as a tax or as a levy.

However, concerns have also been raised about rising prices and a potential contraction in domestic demand. In particular, as food accounts for a large proportion of total income for low-income households, a cautious approach is needed to avoid increasing their burden.

Meanwhile, President Lee has recently raised various policy issues through several social media posts. In addition to the sugar tax, he also shared an article about the differences in deposit interest rates for municipal coffers, suggesting, "Even a 1% difference on 1 trillion won amounts to 10 billion won... It is worth conducting a comparative study of the level of democracy and interest rates in each city."

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