[imText1]<\/p>\n
Anticipating popular resistance to the establishment of a punishing \u2018reunification tax\u2019, a number of expert voices are now being raised in support of finding a way to build up a reunification \u2018war chest\u2019 through greater voluntary participation. <\/p>\n
As part of this effort, a number of diplomatic and security experts gathered to discuss the issue at \u2018National Unification Fundraising Strategy\u2019 forum on August 17th. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is necessary for us to consider how to provide unification funds which can draw in voluntary participation,\u201d asserted Doh Hee Yeon of \u2018Too a Happy Unification\u2019, the organizer of the event. <\/p>\n
Doh put forward three ideas for discussion: \u25b2 developing unification financial products; \u25b2 financing a North Korea development fund through unification preparation enterprises; and \u25b2 issuing unification lottery tickets. <\/p>\n
A unification financial product would draw money into a unification fund through tax exempt or preferential products, while financing a North Korea development fund through enterprises would mean tax cuts and support in entering the post-unification North Korean market for those enterprises which chose to save a percentage of net profits over ten years in the here and now.<\/p>\n
Park Jung Won, a professor of law at Kookmin University commented on the need for these ideas, saying, \u201cAlthough the benefits of reunification are being emphasized, the burden placed on the citizenry by a large-scale tax, issuing bonds, utilizing public funds and foreign borrowing would be challenging. To prepare unification funds, it is necessary to create a national consensus.\u201d <\/p>\n
Professor Park continued, \u201cDoh\u2019s three plans are practical in terms of securing people\u2019s active participation in the preparation of unification funds in the private sector. Unification financial product development, financing a North Korea development fund through unification preparation enterprises and unification lottery issues can be fully discussed within the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong Sun Jik, a senior research fellow with Hyundai Research Institute agreed, noting, \u201cThe private sector voluntary participation inducement plan for preparing unification funds will be useful for attracting people\u2019s attention. Especially the unification financial product, which creates a unification fund, sounds very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong did, however, sound a note of caution on all three plans, saying, \u201cThere are concerns that the government\u2019s financial revenue would decrease because of unification financial products,\u201d adding also, \u201cFinancing funds through unification preparation enterprises might not create sufficient incentives for each enterprise,\u201d before noting, \u201cIn the case of the unification lottery, it would be difficult to generate profits given the existence of the domestic lottery market.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u25cf “480 trillion won needed for 10 years following reunification”<\/b> <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the forum also addressed the equally thorny and imprecise task of guessing how much unification is actually going to cost.<\/p>\n
Stepping forward to try, Chungbuk National University\u2019s Professor Ahn Sung Ho argued that unification expenses for the 10 years following reunification could reach 480 trillion won. Sixty percent of this sum could be paid by the private sector, he asserted, while forty percent should be paid by the government. <\/p>\n
According to Professor Ahn, in 2010 it cost 5 trillion won to build the industrial, educational, housing and consumption-related social infrastructure in a new town with 100,000 people in South Korea. In North Korea the same project would cost 2 trillion won because of the low cost of land and other positive factors. <\/p>\n
Accordingly, Professor Ahn explained, \u201cIf it costs 2 trillion won to build this kind of town in North Korea, we need 480 trillion won to develop 240 new towns for 10 years after reunification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Therefore, he went on, \u201cIt is a practical plan to draw 20 trillion won from unification financial products, 260 trillion won from major corporations\u2019 unification preparation businesses and 20 trillion won from a unification lottery over 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Government funding (40%) can be formed half by direct and half by indirect tax. By imposing 200,000 won as a direct tax on all citizens per year and applying graduated rates on income tax and corporate taxes we can finance 10 trillion won,\u201d he also concluded. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[imText1] Anticipating popular resistance to the establishment of a punishing \u2018reunification tax\u2019, a number of expert voices are now being raised in support of finding a way to build up a reunification \u2018war chest\u2019 through greater voluntary participation. As part of this effort, a number of diplomatic and security experts gathered to discuss the issue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":16252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n