President Moon: "Efforts to Implement Employment Insurance for Specially Employed Workers Next Year"

President Moon answers questions from Joo Ho-young, floor leader, at Blue House luncheon meeting... "Comfort women issue not resolved"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the 28th, President Moon Jae-in, during a luncheon meeting held at Cheongwadae Sangchunjae with Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, spoke about the employment insurance issue, saying, "We are working to ensure that special employment workers can be covered starting next year. The real difficulty lies with the self-employed, and income verification must precede this."

In response to Floor Leader Joo's question regarding the employment insurance issue, President Moon said, "It is regrettable that only artists have been approved. However, I believe this is an important foundation for universal employment insurance."

President Moon added, "Labor flexibility is being discussed not only at the Tripartite Commission but also through the Prime Minister's Thursday Dialogue, a form of social dialogue. It seems sufficient to discuss it there."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon responded in detail to Floor Leader Joo's questions. Regarding issues surrounding the third supplementary budget, he said, "The National Assembly does not thoroughly review the supplementary budget within the given session but spends time on political issues and hurriedly holds the Budget Committee just before the session ends, passing it mostly at midnight on the last day." He added, "If sufficient answers are demanded regarding the supplementary budget, the government will prepare thoroughly. In any case, I ask that the decision (on passing the supplementary budget) be made swiftly."

On the issue of fiscal soundness, President Moon stated, "I agree that fiscal soundness is important. The fiscal authorities currently hold a conservative view on soundness," and continued, "However, even the IMF did not understand the COVID-19 crisis. They asked why Korea, which has fiscal capacity, is not pursuing expansionary fiscal policy. Growth must recover for tax revenue to increase, and in the long term, this will help fiscal soundness."

President Moon added, "After the second quarter, by the third quarter, we expect a rapid U-shaped recovery, but even if it is not U-shaped, I hope it will be close to a narrow-bottomed V-shape." Cheongwadae spokesperson Kang Min-seok explained, "This was an explanation that the denominator of the national debt-to-GDP ratio should be increased to create a virtuous cycle."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the Justice and Sharing Foundation (Jeonguiyeon) incident, President Moon avoided direct mention but expressed his views on the comfort women issue. He pointed out, "(On December 28, 2015) there was the comfort women agreement. There was hope that the problem would be resolved, but the victims did not accept it, so the problem was not resolved."

President Moon said, "The grandmothers and organizations leading the movement returned the money, and some victim grandmothers accepted it. If the agreement had been shared with the comfort women grandmothers beforehand, they might have accepted it, but it was unilateral," and criticized, "Japan considered the Prime Minister's apology and acknowledgment as stated in the agreement, but later there was no explanation, and the government itself diminished the agreement's intent by treating it as a consolation payment."

Spokesperson Kang said, "The question itself was not about the Jeonguiyeon incident. The answer was a lengthy explanation of how the comfort women issue has reached the present."

Regarding the nuclear power plant issue, President Moon said, "Unlike other European countries, this is not a strict nuclear phase-out. When the design life ends, it is naturally compensated and agreed not to continue during the planning stage, a process that takes 70 years." He added, "Even looking at the facilities, there is an excess. Energy supply is stable, and the power reserve rate exceeds 30%. I understand Doosan Heavy Industries' nuclear power share is 13%, and we will strive to support them."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the reshoring issue, President Moon said, "I fully agree. First, through smart cities and others, we have overcome labor cost gaps and gained competitiveness. The COVID-19 crisis disrupted global supply chains, and the search for safe and innovative investment destinations is also a cause of reshoring."

Regarding security issues, President Moon said, "Our conventional military power is superior to North Korea's. We are not allowed to develop nuclear weapons. That is why we are trying to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the U.S." He added, "If the National Assembly ratifies (the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, etc.), it will be a great help. Please view the October 4 and September 19 declarations with an open mind. They should continue regardless of changes in administration."

On the issue of integration, President Moon said, "The confrontation between democratization and dictatorship ended long ago. However, there is hostility, and the other side is seen as a target to be overthrown. To move beyond this, we must turn the page one by one."

Regarding the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), President Moon said, "Special relations around the president, including close aides, are also targets, but it is rather highlighted as a means to check the prosecution." He emphasized, "However, the original intent was to prevent power-type corruption around the president. The Special Inspection Officer system was created because the CIO was not agreed upon."

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