Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday proposed the idea of imposing a "sugar levy" to help curb sugar intake and bolster public health care funding, citing a similar levy on tobacco. Lee made the remark on X, formerly Twitter, highlighting a survey that showed around eight in 10 South Koreans supported a sugar tax aimed at companies using excessive sugar in their products.
According to Yonhap News Agency, more than 120 countries are implementing sugar taxes or similar measures based on World Health Organization recommendations. Under the National Health Promotion Act, the National Health Promotion Fund, primarily funded by tax on tobacco consumption, supports various anti-smoking and health care programs.
In response, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) expressed concerns that Lee's proposal would add an additional burden on consumers through indirect taxes and potentially fuel inflation by raising prices of sugar-containing products. PPP spokesperson Park Sung-hoon emphasized that companies might bypass the regulation by switching to other sweeteners, potentially causing inflation without delivering public health benefits. Park also pointed out that the sugar levy could act as a regressive tax, reducing disposable income for vulnerable groups and possibly worsening their eating habits.
Cheong Wa Dae stated it would gather opinions from various stakeholders on the proposed sugar levy, focusing on its public health impact and potential use of revenue in the public health sector.