Han Dong-hoon, the leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, recently met with financial industry officials at the Korea Exchange headquarters in Seoul to discuss the potential abolition of a capital gains tax on financial investments. This move comes as retail investors in South Korea, known as "ants" for their collective influence, are supporting President Yoon Suk Yeol's proposal to eliminate the tax. However, the main opposition Democratic Party argues against this, claiming it would benefit the wealthy and weaken government revenue. The debate over the capital gains tax is central to efforts by South Korean authorities to revitalize the domestic stock market, which has underperformed compared to other Asian markets this year. In response to the proposed tax abolition, a group of approximately 1,000 retail investors, led by the Korea Stockholders Alliance, plans to hold a candlelight protest to oppose what they view as a detrimental measure for local equities. The Alliance, representing over 60,000 members, believes that implementing a capital gains tax prematurely could harm the struggling stock market and suggests reintroducing it once the market reaches a more developed stage. The upcoming protest coincides with the main opposition party's scheduled debate on September 24 to finalize its stance on the tax, which currently requires investors to pay a minimum 20 percent tax on annual capital gains exceeding 50 million won from stock investments or 2.5 million won from other financial assets. Retail investors, who make up a significant portion of the stock market turnover, have previously demonstrated their influence, as seen in their successful campaign against short selling in 2023.