Choi Sang-mok’s Words on Inheritance Tax: Distorted Reporting or a Cautionary Tale?

▲Photo = Getty Images.

According to an article in the Chosun Ilbo on the 22nd, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok said that “corporate governance is being distorted because of the high inheritance tax.” I don’t understand why the inheritance tax distorts corporate governance, but I thought Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok also spoke with the intention of lowering the inheritance tax rate. However, when I looked at the JoongAng Ilbo, “Choi Sang-mok… “We are cautious about inheritance tax reform.” Looking at the Chosun Ilbo, I thought Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok confirmed President Yoon Seok-yeol’s words about lowering the inheritance tax, but looking at the JoongAng Ilbo, it seems his be denying President Yoon Seok-yeol’s words. Who is right?

Let’s look at the full text of what Deputy Prime Minister Choi said on KBS’s ‘Sunday Diagnosis Live’ on the 21st. In response to the moderator’s question, “The President recently spoke about inheritance tax. Is the Ministry of Strategy and Finance also preparing for it?” he replied, “There is a view that corporate governance is distorted because of inheritance tax, and there is also a view that we have to be very careful. We are listening to both sides. “We will consider the social consensus carefully, listens to many people, makes a comprehensive judgement, and proceeds carefully.” Therefore, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok’s bold ‘Sunday Diagnosis Live’ quoted the collection of Deputy Prime Minister Choi’s remarks and called it “Cautiously pursuing inheritance tax relief.”

But let’s read between the lines. The president, who is the appointing authority, announced his intention to ease the inheritance tax. And the KBS host asked Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, an appointed civil servant, how he was preparing for the will of the president, the appointing authority. At this stage, an appointed public official cannot say, “We are not making any preparations, and inheritance tax relief is not a consideration.” Although there are aspects of the corporate governance distortion that the President mentioned, he also emphasizes the need to be very careful. Therefore, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance concludes that it will proceed with caution. The key word that sums this up best is ‘warning’. The reports from KBS and JoongAng Ilbo, who conducted the interview, are correct.

But let’s look at Chosun Ilbo titles and economic magazines. Asian Economy <상속세 때문에 우리 기업 지배구조 왜곡 측면>It was titled: Only one aspect mentioned by Deputy Prime Minister Choi was emphasized by putting quotation marks on it. Korean Economy <상속세로 기업지배구조 왜곡>Its title was: By omitting the word ‘side’, the tone becomes more positive. Seoul Economy <상속세 탓에 기업지배구조 왜곡>It was entitled . By changing the word “because” to “blame,” the tone becomes more positive. However, words within quotation marks should not be changed arbitrarily. That’s the meaning of quotation marks we learned in elementary school.

▲ Snapshot of a press report dealing with comments from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok regarding inheritance tax.

When conveying the words of a high-ranking public official in quotation marks, the media must carefully consider whether the quoted sentence summarizes the context of the entire interview well. Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok mentioned the negative aspects of inheritance tax and said, however, that we must be very careful. In such a statement, putting just one aspect before ‘but’ in quotation marks and adding it to the title is an act of distorting the facts. In fact, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok expressed a cautious view when asked about his position on reducing the inheritance tax at a confirmation hearing last month, saying, “Inheritance tax reform is an issue that needs to be promoted through consensus building adequate national. .” Even in the 2024 economic policy direction published on the 4th, there was no mention of inheritance tax reform or financial investment income tax.

In this situation, it is necessary to refrain from titles that contain only part of the words of a certain high-status figure in quotation marks. Furthermore, words should not be changed arbitrarily within quotation marks. Meanwhile, the most incomprehensible article regarding inheritance tax is the Korea Economy series on inheritance tax on the 19th and 20th. The title of the article is <‘징벌적 상속세’ 덫에 걸린 한국 증시>All. They say that the Korean stock market is depressed because of the punitive inheritance tax, and that there are many disputes over management rights among owner families because of the inheritance tax, leading to the Korean decline.

However, management disputes are good news for the stock market. Instead, as management disputes increase, the stock market becomes more active. Above all, do not mention the word ‘owner’ in the article. Executives who own 1 to 3% of a corporation’s shares should not be referred to as ‘owners’.

The most interesting article relating to inheritance tax was the title of a Money Today article reporting on inheritance tax reform, which was not included in the economic policy direction. <‘경제정책 방향’에 담길뻔했던 상속세 완화…“개편 속도 날까”>The title of the article, “A gamjatang restaurant near our company that is almost broadcast on KBS, MBC, and SBS,” makes me feel funny.

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