Korean Party: "Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun's Remarks Digging into Commoners' Pain... Unaware of the Seriousness of Livelihood Issues"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited a coffee shop in Sinchon Myeongmul Street, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, which is struggling due to the impact of COVID-19, on the 13th and talked with merchants. Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Regarding Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun's visit to Sinchon and his remark to merchants, "These days, there are fewer customers, so it must be more comfortable," the Liberty Korea Party raised voices of criticism, calling it "a statement that digs into the suffering of ordinary people."

Park Yong-chan, spokesperson for the Liberty Korea Party, pointed out in a statement on the 14th, "Is it possible to be this unaware of the realities of people's lives and so ignorant of public sentiment?"

According to the media, during his visit to Sinchon, Prime Minister Jeong responded to a store owner's comment about fewer customers by saying, "You have to endure with the money you have earned so far," and when visiting another restaurant, he also said, "It must be comfortable since there are fewer customers."

Spokesperson Park criticized, "After the president visited Namdaemun Market and made disconnected hopeful remarks from public sentiment, now the Prime Minister has made statements that dig into the suffering of ordinary people, causing another controversy," adding, "The reaction is pouring out that it is truly shocking beyond disappointment."

He said, "With the government's flawed economic policies compounded by the Wuhan pneumonia, the majority of self-employed and small business owners are currently enduring severe hardships," and questioned, "How can the Prime Minister of a country casually make remarks that 'rub salt in the wounds' of ordinary people's suffering right in front of self-employed business owners?"

Spokesperson Park further noted, "It is an even more serious issue considering this came just one day after the desperate plea of a Namdaemun merchant saying 'Please save us' in front of the president," and criticized, "This can only be seen as evidence that the Moon Jae-in administration lacks empathy and completely fails to recognize the severity of the situation on the ground in people's lives."

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