[THE INVESTOR] Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho has expressed his opposition to corporate income tax hike, warning that it could take a toll on the country’s competitiveness.

“For the time being, raising the corporate income tax is not a right thing to do,” Yoo said in a meeting with business journalists of local newspapers on June 27.


His remark comes as the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea seeks to propose a revision to raise the corporate income tax ceiling for big companies to 25 percent from the current 22 percent.

The revision targets businesses with annual taxable income of over 50 billion won.

“Globally, countries tend to cut the tax and so we did. For the country’s global competitiveness, it’s not a desirable decision,” he said.

The ruling Saenuri Party has been opposed to the Minjoo’s move, saying that the proposal would hamper companies’ investment and employment which could have a negative impact on the economy.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)