Nat'l Assembly passes tax bills to stabilize foreign exchange market

The National Assembly passes the revised Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation during a plenary session in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a set of bills aimed at stabilizing the foreign exchange market and providing tax incentives to encourage local investors to return to the domestic stock market as the Korean currency has plunged amid the Middle East conflict.

Under the revised Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation, capital gains tax will be deducted for individual investors who invest their gains from overseas stocks in the domestic stock market for one year.

Investors who sell foreign stocks to reinvest in the domestic market through the newly introduced "reshoring investment account" by May 31 will be fully exempt from the capital gains tax, while those who sell before Dec. 31 will be eligible for a 50 percent deduction.

The bill is also designed to give tax benefits to retail investors when they buy financial products to hedge against foreign exchange losses.

With the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran entering their second month, global oil prices have surged, raising concerns about a severe blow to Korea's export-dependent economy.