With more than 4,000 opinions received during the legislative preview period for the government's tax revision plan, a comprehensive review is expected for two key issues: the overhaul of the Individual Savings Account (ISA) and the so-called "Stock Price Suppression Prevention Act." President Lee Jae-myung instructed a full reconsideration of these two matters during a situation-checking meeting with aides on the 7th, and was reported to have delivered strong reprimand over the preparation process of the ISA revision plan.

Amid mounting criticism from political circles, the financial investment industry, and retail investors, the key controversies and future directions for revision in each area have been summarized into three categories.

• *[ISA Revision: Controversy Over Narrowing Investor Choices]**
• Maturity Limit: Previously, after a three-year mandatory subscription period, the maturity could be extended indefinitely, offering long-term investors tax deferral and compound interest benefits. However, the revision capped the maturity at a maximum of five years (10 years for productive financial ISAs).
• Abolition of Contribution Limit Carryover: Critics point out that young workers and self-employed individuals with irregular incomes will find it harder to make lump-sum contributions when they have surplus funds.
• Restrictions on Overseas ETF Investments: Controversy also arose over restricting productive financial ISAs to domestic asset investments only, making investments in overseas index-tracking ETFs impossible.

• *[Stock Price Suppression Prevention Act: Criticism of Tax Avoidance Loopholes]**
• This law aims to prevent major shareholders from artificially lowering corporate values to reduce inheritance and gift tax burdens. However, it faces criticism that the number of companies subject to taxation has decreased significantly, while room for tax avoidance remains.
• Flaws in Screening Criteria: The government designated companies with low PBR ratios—bottom 25% by sector in KOSPI and bottom 10% in KOSDAQ over the past six years—as screening targets. However, the industry points out that loopholes exist, allowing companies to circumvent the criteria by managing stock prices only during specific periods.
• Legislative Response: In response, Rep. Lee Hoon-ki of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced a bill clarifying 80% of the net asset value under the tax law as the minimum valuation standard.

• *[Real Estate Tax Revision: Calls for Primary Residence Exceptions and Deduction Reforms]**
• Regarding real estate tax revisions, there was a concentrated influx of demands to expand primary residence exception requirements in the calculation of the comprehensive real estate holding tax and capital gains tax.
• Expansion of Primary Residence Exceptions: The government proposed recognizing non-residence periods of up to three years—due to schooling, job relocation, illness, school transfer, overseas stays, and parental caregiving—as part of the residence period. Additional requests were made to include childcare and family caregiving, and relocation due to remodeling as exceptions.
• Flexible Review of Enforcement Decree: While considering potential abuses such as gap investment, the government plans to flexibly review exception requirements and recognized periods in the enforcement decree to reflect public opinion.
• Comprehensive Real Estate Tax for Jointly-Owned Single-Home Owners: Although the basic deduction was raised from 1.2 billion won to 1.4 billion won, critics noted that the system is complex because the more advantageous method between individual taxation and the single-home exemption varies depending on housing prices and residency status.
• Capital Gains Tax Deduction Conversion: For capital gains tax, a plan is being pursued to convert the long-term holding special deduction into a residence-period-based long-term residence income deduction and to establish a new deduction limit.

Meanwhile, the legislative preview for this tax revision plan runs until the 20th, after which it will be submitted to the regular session of the National Assembly following a vice ministerial meeting and a Cabinet meeting.