Hong Jang-pyo, Chairman of the Sojusung Committee, "Interest and Importance of Statistics Increasing... Information Must Be Disclosed"

Soju Growth Special Committee-Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs Joint Forum
'Achievements and Challenges of Soju Growth Seen Through Household Income and Consumption Capacity'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The Special Committee on Income-Led Growth under the Presidential Policy Planning Committee held a discussion forum on the 22nd at 2 p.m. at the Seoul Global Center International Conference Hall, with the theme "Achievements and Challenges of Income-Led Growth Seen Through Household Income and Consumption Capacity."

This forum was organized to review the effects of the government's income distribution and redistribution policies.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Hong Jang-pyo emphasized, "Since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, interest in and the importance of statistics have increased more than at any other time, so it is essential to prepare accurate statistical data." He added, "Proper analysis is above all important for policy formulation."

He stated, "The outcomes of the income-led growth policy, which aims to increase jobs and household income while reducing income disparity, have recently become visible," and claimed, "In 2018, not only the redistributed income of low-income households but also their market income improved."

He continued, "This is completely different from the claim that the worst distribution disaster occurred, with the income of the bottom 20% or the first quintile drastically decreasing and income disparity widening, based on the 2018 quarterly household trend survey results."

Kim Yeon-myeong, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Blue House, said in his congratulatory remarks, "I am still confident that the three-pronged paradigm of income-led growth, innovation-driven growth, and fair economy is correct," and added, "I hope the economic direction progresses so that growth and distribution create a virtuous cycle through the effective establishment of social safety nets."

He also added, "Efforts are being made to improve income through the Basic Livelihood Security System, the increase of the Basic Pension, and the introduction of Child Allowance."

Secretary Kim argued that Korea's welfare expenditure level is not large compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He mentioned, "We are well aware of concerns about the sustainability of the welfare system and that income-led growth is not a panacea."

He explained, "Korea's welfare expenditure level is still only about half of the OECD average," and "Even considering the pace of welfare expenditure increase, it will only reach the current OECD average level by 2040."

The forum featured thematic presentations including ▲ Recent changes and implications of income status in lower-middle income households (Professor Kim Jin-wook, Sogang University) ▲ Analysis of consumption capacity considering essential living expenses (Associate Researcher Kim Ki-tae, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs) ▲ Effects and improvement directions of the cash benefit system (Director Kim Tae-wan, Inclusive Welfare Research Division, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs).

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