Korea’s influential ‘ants’ to rally against capital gains tax

Published : Sept 21, 2024 - 15:11 Updated : Sept 21, 2024 - 15:11

Han Dong-hoon (second from left), leader of the ruling People Power Party, participates in a meeting with officials from the financial industry to talk on the abolition of a capital gains tax imposed on financial investments held at the headquarters of Korea Exchange in Seoul. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s retail investors are trying to exert their influence on the country’s stock market policies, having tasted success in their last campaign.

Dubbed as “ants” for their ability to influence policies when they act as a group, the individual investors are backing a proposal by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration to scrap a capital gains tax imposed on financial investments. The main opposition Democratic Party opposes the abolition of the levy, saying such a move would favor the rich and weaken the government’s coffers.

The debate surrounding the capital gains tax strikes at the heart of a drive by South Korean authorities to galvanize the domestic stock market, which has lagged most of its Asian peers this year.

To drive home its point, a group of about 1,000 retail investors will hold a candlelight protest on Saturday to oppose a levy that the Korea Stockholders Alliance says is a “death sentence” for local equities.

“Our stock market isn’t faring well at all now,” said Jung Eui-jung, chief executive of Korea Stockholders Alliance, which has over 60,000 members. “It’s premature to implement a capital gains tax, and it should be reintroduced once our capital market enters the developed market environment.”

The upcoming protest will take place as the main opposition party, which controls the National Assembly, prepares to hold a debate on Sept. 24 to finalize its official position on the tax.

The levy in question requires investors to pay a tax of at least 20 percent if annual capital gains from their stock investments exceed 50 million won ($37,620). Those who earn more than 2.5 million won from other financial assets also have to pay the levy.

Mom-and-pop investors, who account for about two-thirds of the daily stock market turnover, have shown their strength before. In 2023, they prevailed after their long campaign against short selling forced the government to suspend the trading strategy popular among institutional investors.