Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of gender equality and family, has rebuffed allegations that she engaged in so-called "sneaky tax avoidance" by paying about 190 million won ($140,000) in membership dues to the Basic Income Party and claiming tax credits on those contributions.
Yong's confirmation hearing preparation team released a statement Saturday saying the candidate's political fund contributions to her party were not made for the purpose of reducing her tax burden.
Yong paid about 190 million won in party dues to the Basic Income Party — which she helped found — between 2021 and 2025, receiving roughly 36 million won in earned income tax reductions through political fund contribution deductions. The payments drew scrutiny over whether she had used the high dues to lower her tax liability.
The preparation team said Yong, as the party's sole National Assembly member, had paid a portion of her earned income as regular membership dues out of a sense of responsibility, describing the practice as "ordinary political activity."
The team added that if economic gain had been the goal, the rational course would have been to substantially reduce the dues payments rather than claim the tax credits. It said characterizing lawful party dues and statutory income tax deductions as "sneaky tax avoidance" was both inappropriate and factually incorrect.
jookapooka@heraldcorp.com
