Ruling Party and Government Put 'Sugar Overuse Levy' Up for Debate, Cite Concerns Over Tax Backlash

[Financial News]

This was the remark made on the 12th by Jung Tae-ho, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, who hosted a forum on introducing a sugar overuse levy this year following a similar event last year. With President Lee Jae-myung recently drawing attention by mentioning a sugar tax, Jung is seizing the moment to push public debate on adopting a sugar overuse levy.
Hosting a "National Assembly Forum on a Sugar Overuse Levy" at the National Assembly Library of the Republic of Korea, Jung said in his opening speech, "For public health, especially the health of our adolescents, it is time we set a clear direction and make a decision on this issue."
Jung noted, "South Korea is now being called a diabetes republic. If we include high‐risk groups, the number of people with diabetes reaches 23 million, and the social cost has surpassed that of tobacco." He added, "If we do not begin a full‐fledged discussion on this, we must conclude that the state is abandoning its responsibility."
He pointed out that one of the key questions is whether to impose a levy or a tax on excessive sugar use. However, the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party are leaning toward a levy rather than a tax.
Moon Jung-bok, a senior member of the Democratic Party, said in congratulatory remarks, "This issue was discussed before the presidential election as a way to expand education funding, similar to how part of the tobacco consumption tax is collected as an education tax." She continued, "But once it moved to the Office of the President, the idea was altered. If we frame it as a sugar tax, there is likely to be tax resistance that we may not be able to overcome, so the proposal is to adopt it in the form of a levy and use part of the proceeds to promote public health."
This aligns with the proposal previously put forward by President Lee. On January 28, he suggested via a social networking service (SNS), "What about imposing a sugar overuse levy, like on tobacco, to curb sugar consumption and reinvesting the proceeds to strengthen local and public healthcare?"
Government officials at the forum also referred to it as a levy. In his congratulatory remarks, Second Vice Minister Lee Hyoung-hoon of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "To become healthier, we need to improve not only our eating habits but also our eating environment, and that requires policy intervention." He added, "Introducing a new levy will place a burden on both the public and industry, so broad public debate is necessary."
Two bills to impose a sugar levy are currently pending in the National Assembly. They would charge levies on manufacturers, processors, and importers of sugar-sweetened beverages. The bills were introduced by Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Sun-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party, both members of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee.

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter