Korean Party Launches General Election Pledges: "Strengthening Fiscal Soundness and Blocking Nuclear Phase-Out"

Announcement of Three Major Economic Policy Pledges Including Labor Reform
"Moon's Economic Stance Fails... Will Drastically Change the Economic Policy Framework"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] The Liberty Korea Party unveiled its first economic pledge on the 15th ahead of the April 15 general election. Evaluating the Moon Jae-in administration's economic policy as a "failing grade," the party announced three major pledges: ▲strengthening fiscal soundness ▲blocking the nuclear phase-out policy ▲labor reform. Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn emphasized, "We will move away from state-led economic policies and create an era that prioritizes the people and the economy, not the state."

The '2020 Hope Pledge Development Team with the People,' led by Policy Committee Chairman Kim Jae-won as the general director, held a 'Hope Economy Pledge' announcement ceremony at the National Assembly that morning and revealed the first economic pledge. Leader Hwang also attended the event. The Liberty Korea Party plans to sequentially announce pledges starting with this ceremony.

The economic pledge announced that day focused on judging the Moon administration's economic policies. The party stated, "We will promote a major shift in South Korea's economic policy framework," and to that end, pledged to ▲manage fiscal policy soundly to eliminate the debt bomb that will be passed on to future generations ▲abolish the disastrous nuclear phase-out policy to provide affordable electricity to the people ▲reform the labor market to restore the flow of economic vitality in the clogged economic arteries.

Specifically, the pledge to strengthen fiscal soundness stemmed from criticism of the Moon administration's expansionary budget management, tax increases, and expansion of direct welfare support. The party said, "While the previous government increased the budget by about 100 trillion won over seven years, the Moon administration increased it by about 100 trillion won in just three years," adding, "According to the National Assembly Budget Office, national debt is expected to exceed 1,000 trillion won by 2023."

In response, the Liberty Korea Party announced it would actively promote the Fiscal Soundness Act, maintaining the national debt-to-GDP ratio below 40% when drafting the budget. If the debt limit is exceeded, all surplus funds will be used to repay debt, and not only the government but also local governments and public institutions will be required to establish fiscal soundness plans. The party also pledged to expand the PAYGO system (expenditure based on revenue assumptions), currently applied only to government legislative proposals, to bills proposed in the National Assembly.

The party also declared the abolition of the nuclear phase-out policy. The Liberty Korea Party pledged to "abolish the Moon administration's unilateral and ideological nuclear phase-out energy policy and shift to a rational energy policy aimed at a decarbonized society," promising to resume construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 and restart Wolseong Unit 1. Alongside this, the party pledged to expand support for the nuclear ecosystem and pursue a state audit and special prosecutor law regarding solar power projects by pro-government influential figures. The party stated, "We will also promote a sustainable carbon-zero, high-efficiency energy mix to drastically reduce fine dust."

Regarding labor, the party pledged to eliminate blind spots in labor law protection, respect diverse employment types, and enact and promote an 'Employment Contract Act' to protect the many workers marginalized under current legislation. The party criticized the 52-hour workweek system, saying it "did not consider industry characteristics," and pledged to introduce various working hour systems such as flexible work hours, selective work hours, and discretionary work hours.

The Liberty Korea Party emphasized, "Unlike other countries, South Korea's labor-management relations have become confrontational and combative labor movements centered on company-level unions," and pledged to "respond strongly to illegal strikes, eliminate the privileges of strong unions in large corporations, strengthen social responsibility, and transform labor-management relations into a responsive and cooperative model."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.