President Park Geun-hye ordered the government Monday to review its new tax code proposal, saying it should not cause additional burdens to the working and middle classes.

Park's remarks follow recent criticism against the government for its plan to overhaul the tax code in a way that critics claim favors the rich and hurts the working and middle classes.

Under the overhaul announced last Thursday, 4.34 million people, accounting for about 28 percent of workers, will see their tax burden increase next year, according to a government estimate.

"The (new) tax code proposal was aimed at normalizing the abnormal aspects of our tax system, which had not been fixed despite much criticism," Park said in a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

"I understand that the tax code proposal aims to improve the tax system's fairness by lowering taxes for the low-income class and considerably raising the tax burden on the high-income class."

However, apparently referring to the growing criticism, she instructed the government to better inform the public of the new tax code's aims.

"In a situation where the livelihoods of the working class are already difficult, it would be going against the government's economic policies for the working class to further slim down the light wallets of the working and middle classes," Park said. "I would like you to go back to the starting point and review such aspects."

Under the tax code revision plan, people whose earning ranges from 34.5 million won ($30,977) to 70 million won will have to pay an average of 160,000 won in additional taxes from next year.

Among other moves, the government might be looking into ways to raise the minimum salary that triggers more tax payment from the earlier proposed 34.5 million won to over 50 million won, in an effort to alleviate tax burden on the middle class and salaried workers, experts said. (Yonhap News)