Lee speaks for angry smokers
Lee Yeon-ik manager of www.ilovesmoking.co.kr.By Kim Se-jeong Lee yeon-ik, 45, manages www.ilovesmoking.co.kr, an online community for smokers, and speaks for 96,000 people angry about the recently announced cigarette price hike.On Sept. 2, the government announced it would increase the price of a pack of cigarette by 2,000 won, which parliament approved on Tuesday. From Jan. 1, the cheapest cigarette pack will cost 4,500 won.“The government did not care about smokers’ opinions ― we are not a small number of people,” Lee said. An estimated 10 million Koreans are smokers.On Tuesday, enraged smokers took to the website.Asked if 2,000 won was too much of an increase, Lee said it was concerning, but that was not the main point upsetting him and other smokers.“The government is not being honest,” he said. “If the goal was to prevent people smoking, the government should have proposed a higher increase. “We feel the government is simply raising taxes at the expense of smokers. And you know what? Most smokers are lower-middle-cla
Dec 5, 2014By Kim Se-jeong