Yongbin Lee, Youth Pledge No. 1: 'Student Loan and Startup Debt Forgiveness, Half-Price Housing'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Lee Yong-bin, the preliminary candidate for the National Assembly from Gwangsan-gu Gap, Gwangju Metropolitan City, representing the Democratic Party of Korea, has announced his first youth pledge: ‘Student Loan and Startup Debt Forgiveness, and Half-Price First Home.’

On the 21st, at the ‘Youth Special Advisor Launch Ceremony,’ candidate Lee Yong-bin unveiled the ‘Youth Pledge No. 1 that Changes My Life,’ which concretizes the ‘Youth Pledges 2, 3, and 4 (Making Dreaming 20s, Stable 30s, and Bright Smiling 40s).’

Youth Pledge No. 1 includes ▲student loan forgiveness ▲startup debt forgiveness ▲half-price first home.

This pledge aims to create a foundation to solve the problems faced by today’s youth burdened by debt by forgiving student loans and startup debts to ensure a fair start, and by making it easier to secure a first home through half-price housing.

The reality of life for people in their 20s in South Korea shows an average debt of 22.03 million won, with most of the debt coming from student loans, living expenses (including housing costs), and a high proportion of high-interest loans from secondary and tertiary financial institutions.

Among them, the number of young people with credit delinquency due to student loan defaults reaches 10,000.

Even after graduation, the vicious cycle continues due to employment difficulties and low wages, making it take over 10 years to repay debts, leaving no room to dream about their future. Additionally, the enormous debt incurred from youth startups is also a very serious issue.

Preliminary candidate Lee Yong-bin said, “One in seven young entrepreneurs in Gwangju cannot repay their debts, and they incur more debt when preparing housing upon marriage,” adding, “There is a repeating cycle of student loans, low income, low credit, debt vicious cycles, and credit delinquency.”

He continued, “To solve the problem of youth burdened by debt in our era, student loans and startup debts must be forgiven, and the first home should be made easily accessible through half-price housing,” emphasizing, “We will create a society that guarantees a fair start and breathes new life into young people.”

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