Kospi Pares Gains as Lee Stops Short of Dropping Tax-Hike Plan

South Korean shares pared gains after the country’s president stopped short of abandoning a proposal that would have expanded the pool of stock investors subject to capital gains tax.

At a press conference on Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung said an official proposal from late July, which sought to lower the threshold for capital gains tax on stock holdings to 1 billion won ($720,429) from 5 billion won, has raised questions about the government’s commitment to reviving the stock market.

“Some people seem to view this as a test of whether there is real commitment to the policy of revitalizing ...