The tax burden for workers grew over 140 times more than the growth in corporate tax over a recent five-year period, prompting calls for higher progressive tax rates for the highest income earners and conglomerates.
 
According to data presented by Representative Park Kwang-on, a ranking member of the ruling Democratic Party on the parliament's finance committee, the collected income tax grew more than 46 percent between 2011 and 2015 from under 42-point-seven trillion won to over 62-point-four trillion won. 
 
Of this total, earned income tax rose more than 49 percent from 18-point-eight trillion to over 28 trillion won.
 
During the same period, corporate tax grew a meager zero-point-35 percent from 44-point-eight trillion won to 45 trillion.
 
The portion of income tax out of the total tax revenue has increased from 23-point-seven to 30 percent while the share of corporate tax is down from 25 to 21-point-six percent.