Seoul: The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday issued an apology over its misleading press material claiming South Korea's heavy inheritance tax has led to a sharp rise in the exodus of affluent individuals. Over the weekend, President Lee Jae Myung openly condemned the KCCI report issued Tuesday in a social media post, saying such "intentional fake news" is "an enemy of democracy."
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KCCI stated, "We offer our deep apology for causing unnecessary confusion by citing statistics from an external organization without a sufficient verification process." The organization emphasized its commitment to immediately implementing measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
The KCCI announced plans to overhaul its internal system and implement education programs to enhance the fact-checking and analytical capacity of its researchers. "By bolstering our internal verification system, we will work to improve the credibility of our releases, provide transparent information to the public, and seek shared growth for businesses and the nation," the statement added.
The initial report by KCCI, based on research conducted by Britain-based Henley and Partners, claimed that the number of wealthy individuals leaving South Korea reached 2,400 in 2025, doubling from the previous year and ranking as the fourth largest in the world. The report suggested that the country's high inheritance tax rate might be contributing to the outflow of rich people and their wealth.
The release was criticized for its credibility, particularly because the original data did not specify South Korea's inheritance tax as the cause. Hours after issuing the release, the KCCI acknowledged the limitations of the data as academic or official evidence.
"We are taking this situation very seriously, and we will fully revamp our internal system. We will make proactive efforts to restore our credibility," Park Il-jun, executive vice chairman of the KCCI, stated during an emergency meeting with major business lobby groups and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan.