Public sentiment to quit rising tobacco prices… 4 years ago, the remarks in the 文 are “squeezing the common people”

President Moon Jae-in said this in the “Korea Asks” published in January 2017.

In January 2015, during the Park Geun-hye administration, the price of cigarettes rose from 2500 won to 4500 won, which was a criticism from the perspective of’increased people’.

Now, more than four years later, public sentiment is again fluctuating over the issue of cigarette prices. On the 27th, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the ‘5th Comprehensive National Health Promotion Plan’, which contained the contents of raising the cigarette price of 4500 won to more than the OECD average of 8,000 won within 10 years, a strong backlash is rising. .

From the announcement to the morning of the 28th, the number one search word on major portal sites is’tobacco price increase’. In various online communities, most of the accusations that strongly blame the government have been posted. Beyond simple criticism “GNOME’s OECD average. Raise the fertility rateOr “Everything rises in this regime. House price, alcohol price, cigarette price and my blood pressureSatire comments such as ”are also lined up.

A quick person sees it as an investment opportunity. Tobacco company KT&G is trading at 8,2900 won, up 1600 won (1.97%) from the previous day at 11 am on the 28th. The market is judging that tobacco companies will benefit from higher tobacco prices.

As such, the government of Park Geun-hye suffered from measles due to the issue of the price of cigarettes with great impact. In September 2014, the Park Geun-hye administration announced a plan to increase the price of cigarettes to improve public health. However, when the price hike was confirmed by a quick decision on the 9th day of the announcement, public sentiment raged. Criticism poured out, saying, “Isn’t it really a trick?”

That would be the case, too. The Park Geun-hye administration banned the term’symptoms’ throughout the term. In April 2015, when Seung-min Yoo, the head of the Saenuri Party (now the power of the people), gave a speech saying, “Welfare without symptoms is a fiction”, it was a conflict with the Blue House.

At the time, Park Geun-hye also adversely affected the approval rating of the President. After the price of cigarettes became controversial, the approval rating of the president at the time fell for three consecutive weeks based on real meters. At the time, a polling company analyzed that “the controversy over the increase in the price of cigarettes and other common people’s taxation had an effect.”

President Moon Jae-in, who was the leader of the opposition at the time, did not miss the gap. At the time, he was running for the New Political Democratic Federation (now the Democratic Party of Korea) President Moon apologized as “sorry” when he met a party member complaining about the increase in tobacco prices on January 8, 2015, at a famous bakery in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, right after the implementation of the increase in tobacco prices.

The price of cigarettes was also controversial during the May 2017 presidential election. Hong Joon-pyo, then presidential candidate of the Free Korea Party (now the power of the people), made a pledge to cut cigarette prices. Moon Jae-in at the time also reviewed the plan for a full cut and presented a pledge to supply duty-free cigarettes to the low-income and the elderly.

Later, the Moon Jae-in administration was launched, and the Free Korea Party, which became the opposition party, proposed a bill to lower the price of cigarettes in July 2017, but the Democratic Party, which became the ruling party, disagreed. Rep. Jeong Tae-ok, who was a member of the Korean Party at the time, emphasized the necessity of the bill, saying, “(right after the price hike) the smoking rate fell and then almost recovered.

However, Rep. Jeon Jae-soo of pro-moon Jae-in said at the time, “catching the ankles that can be seen clearly in the inside”. Both parties showed the behavior of’Narrow Nambul’, which changed their positions when leading the government and when they were opposition parties.

The increase in cigarette prices is a card that any government can easily fall into. This is because it is possible to catch two rabbits at the same time, which is to increase tax revenues along with the cause of protecting the public health by lowering the smoking rate.

According to data on the ‘2019 Tobacco Market Trends’ released by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in January last year, cigarette sales in 2019 decreased by 20.9% compared to 2014, before the increase in cigarette prices. If you look at the sales volume alone, it definitely works. At the same time, the tax burden increased 57.7% from 7 trillion won in 2014 to 11 trillion won. For the government, it is a good income.

The question is whether it is effective in lowering the smoking rate. According to data on the’Tobacco Market Trends for the 1st and 3rd Quarters of 2020′ released in October of last year, sales volume declined only 15.1% compared to the same period in 2014. On the other hand, the tax burden increased by 67.1%. Corona 19 may cause the economic situation to deteriorate and the amount of smoking among the general public is increasing, but the situation has worsened this year.

In this situation, the opposition party immediately criticized the proposal to raise cigarette prices. Na Gyeong-won, a former member of the People’s Strength, who declared a run for mayor of Seoul, told Facebook, “Corona 19 causes the common people to die because it is difficult to eat and live. “It is too harsh news for our people who have no place to appease their hearts.”

Independent Hong Jun-pyo The lawmaker also said, “Anti-popular policy is General exploitation tax system“It’s a good reason for the health of the people, but it’s a ridiculous idea of ​​a cat thinking of a mouse,” he wrote. And then, Garenju-gu (苛斂誅求)I said,” he added.

As public opinion became cold, the Democratic Party together with the government began to extinguish the fire.

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun said on Facebook on the 28th that “the current government has not considered any and has no plans for raising cigarette prices and imposing health promotion charges for alcohol.” It was only a long-term plan of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Democratic Party Policy Committee Chairman Hong Ik-pyo also met with reporters on the day and added, “The Prime Minister’s Office has not reviewed it and has clearly stated that there is no implementation plan.”

Reporter Heo Jin [email protected]