On the 2nd, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, argued, "It is urgent to realize the basic deduction for earned income tax to protect the wallets of salary earners and increase disposable income." This comes as he once again seeks to appeal to the hearts of salary earners with his focus on people's livelihoods, just two days before the ruling on President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial.
That afternoon, he posted on Facebook an article titled "Are salary earners victims? It’s not a left or right issue, but a question of fairness," stating, "While the overall tax burden ratio in our country is decreasing due to tax cuts for major corporations, the tax burden ratio for earned income has reportedly increased."
He emphasized, "Against the GDP, it increased from 1.6% in 2015 to 2.4% in 2024," adding, "This is why the question of whether 'salary earners are victims' never ceases."
He added, "In the meantime, prices have continued to rise, but the basic deduction for earned income tax has remained unchanged since 2009, when it was raised from 1 million won to 1.5 million won. This amounts to a de facto 'enforced tax increase.'"
He stated, "The lives of 20 million salary earners equate to the people's livelihood, and correcting unfairness is the responsibility of politics," stressing, "This is not an issue of left or right, but fundamentally a question of fairness."
Previously, the representative had promoted a tax reform centered on the earned income tax inflation indexation system, asserting that, "We must rectify the de facto tax increase on salary earners."