Lee Hae-chan: "Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Is Not a Disaster Measure or Welfare"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized the nationwide payment of emergency disaster relief funds for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in early May, stating that "this is a disaster measure, not welfare."

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 20th, at the first Supreme Council meeting after the general election held at the National Assembly, Lee said, "It includes not only support for individuals but also measures for job demand."

He added, "If this is mistakenly considered a welfare measure, rational policies will not emerge," and criticized, "It seems that some elected members of the United Future Party oppose nationwide payment. If they cannot distinguish the nature of the measure and overturn their party's election pledges, the 20th National Assembly will not move forward at all."

He continued, "There is a scheduled policy speech at today's plenary session, and the additional supplementary budget (추경) promised by both ruling and opposition parties during the election period should be reviewed by the standing committee and the budget committee as quickly as possible, revised, and implemented in early May," urging the swift passage of the supplementary budget bill.

Regarding the United Future Party's lukewarm attitude toward handling the supplementary budget, he warned, "If the opposition party uses this as a political dispute again, they must bear the corresponding responsibility."

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