Lee: "Sugar tax? Are the media creating a tax-hike narrative?" — slams it as "fake news" aimed at local elections

[The Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly posted rebuttals to some media reports on the "discussion of introducing a sugar tax." He took issue with the fact that media outlets portrayed as a definitive "tax introduction" a post in which he suggested on a social networking service (SNS) that a sugar tax could be used to fund investment in regional and public healthcare.

On the afternoon of the 28th, the president shared coverage related to the sugar tax on his X (formerly Twitter) account and wrote, "I asked the public for their opinion, but the media distorted it as 'introducing a sugar tax,'" adding, "Are they trying to create a tax-hike narrative to hurt us in the local elections?" He asked that the reports be corrected.
He also attached a news article with the headline, "Lee: 'Introduce a sugar tax and invest in regional healthcare.'"
Three hours later, Lee shared another media article and wrote, "If you are the media, you should report the facts as they are. I asked what you think about a sugar tax, so why twist it into saying I insisted on imposing a sugar tax?" He then pointed out, "It is wrong to go so far as to fabricate words I never said, even putting them in double quotation marks, to create fake news."
The headline of that article read, "President Lee: 'Let’s impose a sugar tax like on cigarettes and invest in regional and public healthcare'... Will the debate over introduction flare up again?"

Earlier that day, the president had shared on X an article reporting that a survey of 1,030 people conducted from the 12th to the 19th by the SNU Center for Health Culture found that 80% of respondents supported introducing a sugar tax. He asked, "What do you think about using a sugar tax, like on cigarettes, to curb sugar consumption and reinvesting the proceeds to strengthen regional and public healthcare?"
Regarding the "sugar tax" mentioned by the president, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy of the Republic of Korea Kim Yong-beom told the media, "Even within our own office, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Affairs and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs had differing views," adding, "We are reviewing it."
He went on to say, "There are many people who advocate for that direction (introducing a sugar tax). Some are actively making the issue of levies on sugar and fructose and putting it on the agenda," and added, "The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has already held two debates on the topic, and Cheong Wa Dae is also reviewing it. However, this is a matter that requires broader social discussion."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter