South Korea

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 2, 2025 | Political Scandal or Corruption

Ruling and opposition party officials in South Korea resumed talks on November 30, 2025, to resolve differences over contentious issues including next year’s budget and a parliamentary probe into the prosecution’s decision not to appeal a corruption case. Earlier discussions at the National Assembly failed to reach an agreement. Key items under negotiation include policy funds, local gift certificates, special activity expenses of the presidential office, education, taxes, and corporate tax rates.

The Democratic Party (DP) supports reversing corporate tax cuts made under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, while the opposition People Power Party (PPP) opposes tax increases due to concerns about business impacts. Another major point of contention is a parliamentary investigation into the prosecution's choice to forgo an appeal in a real estate development corruption case involving private asset management firms and former Mayor Lee Jae Myung. The parties face pressure to compromise, especially on the budget, with only two days remaining before the deadline for passing the 2026 budget.

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Dec. 2, 2025 | Accidents

Families of the 179 victims of the 2024 Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport have begun an overnight sit-in protest outside the presidential office in Seoul, demanding a new, independent investigation. They criticize the current probe by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib), under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, for lacking credibility and alleged government influence. The families want the investigation transferred to the Prime Minister's Secretariat to ensure impartiality.

The crash occurred on December 29, 2024, when the plane, returning from Bangkok, overshot the runway during an emergency belly landing and struck a concrete mound housing the airport’s localizer, resulting in a fire that killed all on board. The victims’ association alleges that the Ministry outsourced part of the investigation into the localizer, citing insufficient funds, while simultaneously allocating significant money for memorial events instead of thorough investigation.

Araib plans to release interim findings at a public hearing scheduled for early December, including analyses related to a possible bird strike and the localizer facility’s role. The families condemn this as an attempt to rush and downplay the investigation. Meanwhile, a bill proposing to separate Araib from the Land Ministry remains delayed in the National Assembly, prolonging concerns about the board’s independence.

배당소득 최고세율 30% 신설…기재위 세제개편안 통과

ET News | Local Language | News | Dec. 2, 2025 | UndeterminedTaxes

The National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee approved a tax reform plan establishing a new top dividend income tax rate of 30% for dividends exceeding 5 billion won. The revised "Restriction of Special Taxation Act" now applies separate taxation rates on dividend income: 14% up to 20 million won, 20% for amounts over 20 million won up to 300 million won, 25% for dividends between 300 million won and 5 billion won, and the new 30% bracket for amounts exceeding 5 billion won. This separate taxation applies only to companies with a dividend payout ratio of 40% or higher, or those with a ratio of 25% or higher accompanied by at least a 10% dividend increase compared to the previous year, effective from the dividends paid next year.

Although the committee approved this and 11 other budget-related bills, including amendments to various tax laws such as the Income Tax Act and Corporate Tax Act, the proposal to raise corporate tax and education tax rates was excluded from the agenda. The ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on raising corporate tax by one percentage point across tax brackets or doubling the education tax rate on large financial and insurance companies from 0.5% to 1.0%. The current corporate tax structure has four tiers with rates ranging from 9% to 24%, following tax cuts implemented by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

Under parliamentary rules, if the related budget and ancillary bills are not reviewed by December 1, the government's original proposals will automatically proceed to the plenary session. While the corporate tax increase proposal was not approved by the committee, there remains an opportunity for the ruling and opposition parties to negotiate and present an amended proposal before the final plenary vote.