President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 11th. Yonhap News
President Lee Jae-myung told Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on the 11th that anyone who changes the tax code is bound to face public anger, urging the minister to brace for the criticism.
The remarks appeared to reflect the president’s awareness of growing public opposition to the recently announced tax reform plan.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting held at the government complex in Sejong, Lee said it is desirable for policy proposals to be revised and supplemented after listening to public opinion. “Anyone who deals with taxes is bound to be criticized,” he said, adding that those who benefit from a change stay quiet while those facing a heavier burden develop strong resentment.
Lee stressed, however, that announcing a policy decision differs from announcing a proposal. “When you announce a proposal, it is to hear the public’s views,” he said. He added that accepting counterarguments when they arise is the right approach, and that sticking to a decision simply because it has been made is not the same as consistency.
Koo, who serves as deputy prime minister and finance minister, responded that the tax reform plan is not the government’s final version. “If the public offers opinions, we will actively reflect them,” he said. He explained the purpose of the legislative notice period, saying it is a process of gathering sufficient public feedback on the proposal, revising it once more before submitting it to the National Assembly, and improving it further as lawmakers discuss and amend it.
Lee said the right attitude is to reflect other opinions when they arise, provided they are valid. “Policy is policy precisely because there is room for debate and differing views; something with no dissent is a truth,” he said. He added that differences in position among ministries are a natural phenomenon that need not be avoided.
He also referred to recent divergent stances over exemptions to the 52-hour workweek, noting that the industry minister had cited the need for them while the labor minister had urged caution. There had been criticism, he said, that unreconciled positions among ministries had been made public, drawing charges of being out of step and in conflict.
Reconciling all internal positions among ministries first and then releasing only a settled, finalized view to push it through was in fact the kind of closed-door administration criticized in the past, Lee said. He stressed that open and transparent administration means freely airing opinions from the earliest discussion stage, letting the public weigh in, debating back and forth, and adjusting along the way to eventually reach a conclusion — a process that is, he said, the most democratic.
Ministries are kept separate, Lee added, precisely so that each can bring its expertise and present positions in its field, which are then reconciled through meetings and similar channels. Where differences exist, the Office for Government Policy Coordination handles them; if that proves difficult, the prime minister steps in; if that fails, the president does; and if that still does not work, the matter could go to a national referendum, he said — a process of gradually converging on a single view.