Han Byung-do, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, pushed back against opposition criticism that the party had reversed course on tax and investment policy within 29 days, saying he wanted to ask how listening to the public and reflecting those views in policy amounted to fickleness or surrender.
Speaking at a party policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on the 3rd, Han said a high-level party-government consultative meeting had decided to maintain the benefit raising the basic deduction for owner-occupant single-homeowners to 1.4 billion won from 1.2 billion won, while keeping the basic deduction at the current 1.2 billion won for owners of a single home who do not live in it. He described the outcome as a reasonable adjustment.
He added that the government had withdrawn plans to abolish contract-period limits and contribution caps on Individual Savings Accounts, or ISAs, and would allow savers to hold both a youth ISA and a youth future savings account. The changes were made to strengthen wealth-building for the public and individual investors, he said.
On the People Power Party's criticism of a "U-turn in 29 days," Han said the opposition party would have ignored the public and pushed a policy through to the end once it was set, but that the Democratic Party does not work that way. "The Democratic Party will listen closely to the voices of the people and improve the quality of the budget and the tax code," he said.
He also said the party would draw up effective measures during the regular parliamentary session for a bill aimed at preventing the suppression of share prices, and would handle both the budget and tax legislation responsibly within the statutory deadline.
Han dismissed talk of friction among the party, the government and the presidential office as baseless sophistry intended to undermine the administration's momentum, saying the three were cooperating more closely than ever.
