Lee Won-wook: "Democratic Party Must Avoid 'Naeronambul'... Lack of Principles Drives Youth Away"

Lee Won-wook, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporter Yeonju Kim] On the 30th, Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the party's attitude toward handling real estate issues and the regular employment conversion at Incheon International Airport Corporation (Inkukgong), saying, "It is important not to engage in 'naeronambul' (double standards)."

Lee appeared on YTN Radio's 'Start New Morning' on the same day and said, "Looking at the various criticisms I have made toward the party, most of them arose when the party's attitude failed to uphold the values of fairness and justice."

Regarding the regular employment conversion issue at Inkukgong, Lee pointed out, "I think the perception that it is only nominally regular employment and the idea of it being a lottery-like job caused conflicts among young people when looking at Inkukgong. The issue of how to resolve wage inequality seems to be a very fundamental underlying problem."

He added, "The Inkukgong issue may have caused young people's hearts to drift away due to wage gaps in the public sector and the Democratic Party's lack of consistent principles."

He continued, "The Democratic Party already has 'democracy' in its name. Among the concepts implied in democracy, I believe the most important are fairness and justice," and emphasized, "We need to think more fundamentally about how to uphold these values."

Regarding the party convention scheduled for the 29th of next month, he said, "The first thing the new leadership should do is to take care of people's livelihoods," adding, "If the COVID-19 crisis is not overcome, there is no possibility for the economy to recover."

He further stated, "Until a vaccine is available, COVID-19 cannot truly be overcome. Then, it is the lower-income groups whose lives become more difficult," emphasizing, "The country must deeply consider what it will do to prevent people from falling into the abyss of despair."

He added, "As the ruling party, we must present a vision for overcoming the COVID crisis and revitalizing the economy for the lives of ordinary people," and said, "Regardless of who it is, we must join forces to overcome COVID and work hard to boost economic vitality."

Lee also revealed that he is pushing for legislation to exclude multi-homeowner lawmakers from committees related to real estate policy. He said, "I believe the main focus in housing policy should be on tenants," emphasizing, "Most of them are likely from the lower-income class, so in national policy, we need to decide which group to protect more and create laws to protect them. In that process, it is important that tenants always stand on the side of the weaker party."

He explained, "Those who own two apartments in Gangnam tend to view the law negatively, fearing that their apartment values might drop if the law passes," and added, "Therefore, in the current state where real estate issues are causing national controversy, I think a recusal system is necessary, and I am currently working to propose such legislation."

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