On the 7th, President Lee Jae Myung stated via social media that he would hold the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) strictly accountable for issuing a press release claiming that high-net-worth individuals are leaving Korea because of the inheritance tax burden.

Sharing a column on his X account that day, he said, “The act of producing and spreading fake news to pursue private interests and to attack government policy deserves condemnation.” He added, “All the more, I cannot believe that the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an official organization established by law, would openly do such a thing.”

President Lee said, “We will hold them strictly accountable and establish safeguards to prevent recurrence,” adding, “Deliberate fake news that seeks to cloud the judgment of the sovereign people who make policy is an enemy of democracy.”

The column he shared criticizes news articles that reprinted the press release distributed by the KCCI verbatim.

Earlier, on the 3rd, the KCCI distributed a press release titled ‘Global No. 4 in the outflow of wealthy individuals due to inheritance tax burden… Diversifying payment methods is the practical solution.’ Based on the results of a KCCI study, ‘Forecast Analysis of Inheritance Tax Revenues and Study on Diversifying Payment Methods,’ the core of the material was the claim that Korea’s inheritance tax is excessive and harms economic growth.

The press release said, “Korea is cited as one of the countries from which the wealthy are leaving the most worldwide,” and it quoted data from the UK immigration consultancy ‘Henley & Partners.’ According to those data, the provisional net outflow of high-net-worth individuals from Korea jumped from 1200 in 2024 to 2400 in 2025. The gist was that this ranked fourth in the world, after the United Kingdom, China, and India.

The problem was that the ‘Henley & Partners’ data were inaccurate and lacked clear grounds. Even so, the KCCI used the data to argue that “an inheritance tax of 50~60% can act as a main factor accelerating the overseas flight of capital.”

As controversy arose, the KCCI issued a press note that evening asking that statistics from Henley & Partners not be cited. The KCCI said, “The statistics (quoted in the press release) have been flagged as requiring additional verification of calculation and methodology, and there are certain limitations to citing them as academic or official statistics,” and added, “When reporting, we request that you refrain from citing the above statistical portions until further verification and confirmation are made.”

The KCCI is a statutory private economic organization and one of the leading economic organizations in the country. Its chairman is Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, who took office in March 2021.