hankyoreh

By Jang Bong-kun　

A man pulls up in a Mercedes with a license plate indicating he is from the wealthy conservative Gangnam District and says, “As our country is almost broke due to my tax breaks, you had better pay for you lunch,” rejecting the free school lunch program.

The highest voter turnout in Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s invalidated referendum to repeal the free school lunch program was reportedly in Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam Districts.

Meanwhile, the ultra wealthy in France and the United States hold a sign reading “tax increases for the wealthy” and say, “Let’s pay more!”

Some of the “mega-rich” have begun to call for increased taxes for the ultra wealthy. They include Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett in an op-ed for the New York Times, and sixteen wealthy citizens of France including L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt in a petition calling for an “exceptional contribution” by the country’s richest citizens.

(Hankyoreh Geurimpan Aug. 25)