The South Korean government has backed away from a possible tax hike for heated tobacco products after a backlash from the public, reports The Korea Herald.

With a general election looming next year, it is thought that the ministry had succumbed to pressure from the public and backpedalled after the finance minister had hinted at a possible tax raise.
“(The government) is not currently considering raising the tobacco tax at the moment,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement after the minister’s comments were met with immediate public backlash.
A meeting held by the National Assembly had seen some parties calling for non-combustible cigarettes to be treated the same as combustibles. Rep. Bae June-young of the People Power Party said non-combusted cigarettes are “just as harmful as regular cigarettes” and should be avoided for the sake of public health. “I would like to ask about the government’s take on raising the tax imposed on non-combusted cigarettes,” Bae added.
In South Korea, regular cigarettes are taxed higher as they are considered to be more harmful than non-combusted cigarettes, according to The Korea Herald.
The rumour of higher taxes on heated tobacco products had led to an immediate outcry from the public who claimed the government was trying to boost falling revenue by imposing higher taxes.
Tax revenue for the first two months of the year amounted to KRW 54.2 trillion (USD 41.09 billion) which was KRW 15.7 trillion (USD 11.9 billion) less than in the same period the year before, according to the Finance Ministry.