Lee Jae-myung: "We cannot let 99 people die because of one person... Glad Bucheon City withdrew opposition"

"Speed is Vital in Tackling the COVID-19 Economic Crisis"
"Hope the Captain's Swift Rescue Efforts Are Not Criticized as Power Abuse"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced the plan to provide Gyeonggi Province-type disaster basic income on the morning of the 24th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government briefing room in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, commented on the conflict with Bucheon Mayor Jang Deokcheon regarding the Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income policy, saying, "99 people cannot die together because of one person," and added, "It is fortunate that Bucheon City has withdrawn its opposition."

On the 26th, Lee posted on his Facebook, "It is the captain's duty to quickly evacuate passengers in a sinking crisis," and stated, "We cannot continue to delay the evacuation of other passengers because one passenger refuses due to demanding a special room on the lifeboat."

He continued, "Criticism asking why we could not embrace the last one is the same as asking why we cannot abandon the safety of 99," and pointed out, "There are ordinary times when we can respect and persuade even an unfair opinion of one until the end, but there are also crises where we must quickly choose the reasonable majority over the unfair minority."

He emphasized, "Speed is life in dealing with the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)," and added, "Disaster basic income should be paid as soon as possible to residents who are crying out, 'I will starve to death before I get sick,' and be spent through local currency to increase sales for small business owners and companies."

On the 24th, Jang Deokcheon, Mayor of Bucheon, posted on his Twitter, stating "Choice and concentration over basic income," expressing opposition to Gyeonggi Province's disaster basic income policy. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 24th, Gyeonggi Province announced a disaster basic income policy providing 100,000 won per resident. However, when Mayor Jang posted on his Twitter that "Consumption is currently concentrated due to COVID-19, so selection and concentration are important," and expressed opposition by saying, "It is better to give 4 million won each to about 20,000 small business owners than basic income," Gyeonggi Province later announced a policy to exclude cities and counties opposing the disaster basic income, like Bucheon City, from the payment target, sparking controversy.

As the controversy spread, Mayor Jang changed his stance the next day, saying, "Further controversy is undesirable," and "Bucheon City will strive for quick payment and maximizing the effect of the disaster basic income."

Regarding this, Governor Lee expressed, "I deeply regret the confusion experienced by Bucheon citizens who were expecting the province's disaster basic income," and said, "Since the Bucheon Mayor has changed his position and will go together with other passengers, of course, we will go together."

He added, "However, I hope that the captain's efforts to prepare for the worst for the swift rescue of the majority of passengers, not the passenger refusing rescue, will not be condemned as emotional power harassment over the confusion caused by the rescue."

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