South Korean President Lee Jae Myung Halts Controversial Tax Reform Plan

South Korean President, Lee Jae Myung, announced on Thursday his reluctance to pursue the revision of capital gains taxes that aimed to boost revenue from stock investors. The decision is now deferred to parliament, following substantial pushback from investors.

Lee mentioned during a press conference that reducing the threshold defining 'large shareholders' was deemed unnecessary and could harm the stock market. Both the ruling party and the main opposition agree that maintaining the current threshold is preferable.

Following Lee's comments, the KOSPI stock index reversed earlier gains and fell, with securities firm shares suffering as well. Lee's initial proposal to increase stock transaction taxes and lower the large shareholder threshold caused significant concern among investors about the future of the domestic stock market.

(With inputs from agencies.)