Finance minister Choo Kyung-ho has refuted criticism that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s tax reform plan will primarily benefit high-income groups. 

Choo visited the press room at the government complex in Sejong City on Monday, where he sought to address speculation about the government’s new tax plan.

He stressed that, under the revised tax code, the average amount of income tax to be paid by those earning 100 million won per year will be 44 times that of those earning 30 million won, up from 34 times under the existing system.

The minister said that although the tax cut for low-income groups may be small, it is because they have been paying a small amount of tax. 

The tax revision plan, he emphasized, will give greater benefits to those in the low-to-middle-income bracket, not those in the high-income bracket.

Under the tax revision plan announced last week, which must gain parliamentary approval to pass, the average amount of tax to be paid by those with an annual income of 30 million won will decrease by 80-thousand won to 220-thousand won, and the tax paid by those with an annual income of 100 million won will be reduced by 540-thousand won to nine-point-56 million won.