By Kim Hyo-jin
Seventy-two percent of lawmakers who proposed a bill to delay a tax on religious groups say they are Christian, according to the National Assembly Monday, drawing public ire for advocating their own interest groups.
According to the Assembly's report, 18 out of the 25 lawmakers who sponsored the bill were Christian; five were Buddhist; one was Catholic and one an atheist.
The lawmakers from the four major parties submitted a bill Aug. 10 to postpone the implementation of the revision to the tax law until 2020, claiming that the government has yet to devise criteria and procedures for taxing religious groups enough to avoid a backlash from them.
Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a main sponsor of the bill, said, "The proposed delay is only to help religious taxation make a soft landing."
Kim's push soon became controversial as he was reportedly a devout Christian serving as an elder at a protestant church and leading a Christian group in the ruling party.
In December 2015, the Assembly passed a revision to impose income tax on religious professionals at between 6 percent and 38 percent; scheduled to begin in January 2018.
The finance ministry estimated about 50,000 people would be the subject of taxation and the tax revenue would be between 16 billion and 20 billion won.
Taxation of the religious sector has been a decades-long controversy in Korean society since the first director of the National Tax Service floated the idea in the late 1960s. The move has long faced strong protests from religious groups. Previous governments have remained reluctant to push ahead with it due to concerns over losing votes in elections.
But now with the passage of the income tax revision in 2015, the government appears to be determined to proceed with the tax. In response to the recent controversy, a finance ministry official said, "We are more than ready to start levying tax from next year."
Seventy-two percent of lawmakers who proposed a bill to delay a tax on religious groups say they are Christian, according to the National Assembly Monday, drawing public ire for advocating their own interest groups.
According to the Assembly's report, 18 out of the 25 lawmakers who sponsored the bill were Christian; five were Buddhist; one was Catholic and one an atheist.
The lawmakers from the four major parties submitted a bill Aug. 10 to postpone the implementation of the revision to the tax law until 2020, claiming that the government has yet to devise criteria and procedures for taxing religious groups enough to avoid a backlash from them.
Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a main sponsor of the bill, said, "The proposed delay is only to help religious taxation make a soft landing."
Kim's push soon became controversial as he was reportedly a devout Christian serving as an elder at a protestant church and leading a Christian group in the ruling party.
In December 2015, the Assembly passed a revision to impose income tax on religious professionals at between 6 percent and 38 percent; scheduled to begin in January 2018.
The finance ministry estimated about 50,000 people would be the subject of taxation and the tax revenue would be between 16 billion and 20 billion won.
Taxation of the religious sector has been a decades-long controversy in Korean society since the first director of the National Tax Service floated the idea in the late 1960s. The move has long faced strong protests from religious groups. Previous governments have remained reluctant to push ahead with it due to concerns over losing votes in elections.
But now with the passage of the income tax revision in 2015, the government appears to be determined to proceed with the tax. In response to the recent controversy, a finance ministry official said, "We are more than ready to start levying tax from next year."
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