Biz lobby apologizes over misleading report after Lee's criticism

▲ Park Il-jun (R), executive vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attends an emergency meeting between major business lobby groups and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan in Seoul on Feb. 9, 2026. (Yonhap)

biz lobby-apology

Biz lobby apologizes over misleading report after Lee's criticism

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- 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."

"We offer our deep apology for causing unnecessary confusion by citing statistics from an external organization without a sufficient verification process," the KCCI said in a release, adding that the organization will immediately implement measures to prevent a recurrence.

The KCCI said it plans to overhaul its internal system and implement education programs to improve 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," it added.

The KCCI, citing research conducted by Britain-based Henley & Partners, earlier said the number of wealthy individuals who left South Korea reached 2,400 in 2025, doubling from a year earlier to become the fourth largest in the world, arguing the country's high inheritance tax rate may be a reason behind the seemingly growing outflow of rich people and their wealth.

The release, however, faced criticism over the credibility of the original data, which did not specify South Korea's inheritance tax as the cause.

Hours after issuing the release, the business lobby acknowledged that the data had certain limitations as academic or official data.

"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, said during an emergency meeting with major business lobby groups and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan.

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