Sinsedon: "The statement 'Present concrete plans' on the 40 trillion won national bonds is arrogant... Disaster basic income is irresponsible"

Shin Se-don, Future United Party Election Committee Chairman. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Shin Se-don, co-chairman of the Future United Party's joint election committee, criticized President Moon Jae-in's remark that he would "consider it if a concrete plan is presented" regarding the party's proposal to issue 40 trillion won worth of government bonds, calling it "an arrogant mindset" and saying "the plan is already out." He also launched a fierce attack on the disaster basic income to be paid starting next month in Gyeonggi Province, calling it "irresponsible." On the other hand, he revealed that they are considering employment support and support measures for distribution, travel, tourism, and performance industries to prevent job losses caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 26th, Shin said, "We have already presented a concrete plan to pay 5 to 10 million won to self-employed people whose sales have dropped by 30-40% compared to the previous year, depending on the extent of the damage, and to provide differentiated reductions in health insurance premiums and electricity bills to the general public."

Shin had previously proposed issuing 40 trillion won worth of COVID bonds at the party level to provide relief for COVID-19 damages. In response, President Moon said he would consider the opposition party's 40 trillion won 'COVID bonds' if a concrete plan is presented. Shin said, "Looking at the measures from the government's emergency economic meeting, almost all the methods we proposed are included," and added, "It seems they are asking about the method of raising the 40 trillion won bonds, but for a government that issues tens of trillions in government bonds annually to say 'bring a way to issue 40 trillion won' is somewhat arrogant, isn't it?"

Having devised a relief plan worth 40 trillion won as the first measure, he is currently preparing second and third measures. These include plans to rescue those facing job loss due to COVID-19 and relief plans for affected industries such as aviation and distribution. Shin said, "The government proposed supporting up to 90% of leave allowances, but we suggest increasing this by 10 percentage points to provide 100% support," adding, "We are considering continuing payments for about 1 to 2 months after the infection situation ends, and if the target is about 500,000 people, it is estimated to cost about 1.5 trillion won."

Shin Se-don, Future United Party Election Committee Chairman. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Regarding the disaster basic income, he raised his voice in opposition, calling it a "matter of common sense." He said, "For example, if there are four married children, who should be helped first, the well-off or the less well-off? If there are differences in degree even among the less well-off children, it is clear who should receive more," and criticized, "Putting aside populism, since we don't know who has been hurt how much, giving it to everyone is irresponsible."

That evening, he appeared on a TV debate on the topic of disaster basic income and expressed opposition to Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's decision to provide disaster basic income. Shin said, "It's not a matter of whether populism is right or wrong, but 'I don't want to think complicatedly, let's just give it,' and it's about making administration easier," adding, "It's a matter of common sense beyond theory."

He also dismissed some criticisms that the 'economic democratization' of former Democratic Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in, who was recruited by the Future United Party after 'three visits,' does not align with the Future United Party's colors. Shin said, "People are thinking about the time of the Liberty Korea Party, but the Future United Party is completely different," and added, "The 40 trillion won COVID bonds are planned to be issued not to large corporations but to ordinary citizens, and this is exactly an economic democratization policy."

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