South Korea’s finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, announced plans of introducing detailed tax incentives as part of corporate reforms aimed at increasing the value of listed companies.
The government will gather feedback from market participants in June and July before proposing annual tax code revisions.
Choi emphasised the need to balance fairness and effectiveness in the “Corporate Value-up Programme,” first proposed in February, which aims to enhance the value of listed companies.
The initial proposal did not meet market expectations, so the government plans to offer tax cuts on corporate income for companies that increase shareholder returns and for dividend income for shareholders.
Additionally, the government will unveil detailed measures to support the semiconductor industry and improve a recently announced policy package to boost the global competitiveness of domestic companies.
Choi also expressed support for a three-way free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan and China, following a trilateral summit where leaders backed speeding up negotiations.
On the domestic front, he predicted that consumer inflation would stabilise in the mid-to-lower 2% range in the second half of the year, and tax revenue in 2024 will exceed that of last year, despite weaker-than-expected corporate tax income so far.
