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DP, PPP both claim credit for Kospi surge past 3,400

Published: 15 Sep. 2025, 13:46 Updated: 15 Sep. 2025, 17:38

The Kospi is seen climbing past 3,411 points at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on Sept. 15. [AP/YONHAP]

The two major political parties rushed to take credit Monday as the Kospi broke past 3,400 points in the morning and climbed past 3,411 in the afternoon.

The Democratic Party (DP) opened its Supreme Council meeting Monday morning with the Kospi. As the index hit a record high of 3,407.78 at open, members even paused the session to watch the live market figures.

“The Kospi has once again reached an all-time high,” DP leader Jung Chung-rae said at the start of the meeting. “Since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration, political stability and improved national credibility have boosted investor confidence.”

“The party will actively support efforts to achieve both stock market vitality and tax normalization,” DP floor leader Kim Byung-kee added.

Observers noted that the record was largely driven by the government’s decision to keep the capital gains tax threshold for large shareholders at 5 billion won ($3.6 million) as announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on Monday morning.

The government had unveiled a tax reform plan in July to lower the threshold from 5 billion won to 1 billion won, sparking immediate backlash from investors. On Aug. 1, the Kospi fell 3.88 percent following the announcement.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae points to a screen showing the Kospi during a Supreme Council party meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 15. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

The DP quickly signaled a reversal, with Kim pledging to “review the possibility of keeping the threshold at 5 billion won” through the party’s special committees on tax reform and the "Kospi 5000 era" goal. Despite initial resistance, the government eventually sided with the DP.

President Lee’s remarks at his 100-day press conference on Thursday — “There is no absolute need to lower the threshold from 5 billion won to 1 billion won” — sealed the decision.

The opposition also claimed credit.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks during a party leadership meeting in Busan on Sept. 15. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

“I welcome the decision to maintain the threshold at 5 billion won, as I recommended in my meeting with the president,” said People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok at his party’s leadership meeting on Monday.

Jang recalled Lee’s response during their Sept. 8 talks, when the president said he would “keenly consider” the proposal.

But criticism of inconsistent policy came from other opposition voices.

Reform Party floor leader Chun Ha-ram argued, “The attempt to divide retail investors has failed,” adding that “with fiscal deficits mounting and property tax hikes politically risky ahead of the Seoul mayoral race, stock market investors were seen as the easy target.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE CHAN-KYU [[email protected]]