The finance ministry on Wednesday announced a package of tax benefits aimed at revitalizing the domestic capital market and easing structural supply-demand imbalances in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The measures come as domestic investors have continued to increase their holdings of overseas assets, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, amid the prolonged weakness of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar.
Under the measures, individual investors selling overseas stocks and converting the proceeds into the Korean won to make long-term investments in domestic stocks will be granted temporary tax relief on capital gains from overseas stock sales for a period of one year, the ministry said.
In addition, the government will support major brokerage firms in swiftly launching forward-selling products for individual investors, as many retail investors currently lack sufficient tools to manage FX risks.
To reduce double taxation on dividends received by domestic parent companies from overseas subsidiaries, the government will raise the dividend income exclusion ratio from the current 95 percent to 100 percent, the ministry said.
“While the domestic stock market has shown one of the strongest performances among global capital markets this year, individual investors’ overseas stock investments have surged, whereas investment in domestic equities has declined,” the ministry said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has surged about 70 percent so far this year, driven by government-led market reform measures and optimism surrounding the AI boom.
The ministry further noted that calls are growing for measures to encourage the repatriation of overseas assets held by exporters and other companies in order to attract domestic employment and investment.
