Lee Jae-myung: "No Fiscal Problem Even If Disaster Relief Fund of 300,000 Won Is Given 100 Times"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who advocates for the nationwide distribution of the 2nd disaster relief fund, addressed concerns about fiscal soundness raised by some, stating, "Even if we distribute 300,000 won 50 or 100 times, it will not reach the national debt ratio of Western advanced countries."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the morning of the 28th, Lee said, "(Even if we distribute the 2nd disaster relief fund) it is much less than the national debt ratio of Western advanced countries before the spread of COVID-19."

He explained, "Currently, Western advanced countries have an average national debt ratio exceeding 110%, and they are using bold expansionary fiscal policies that increase the national debt ratio by about 10% to 30%. However, our country is only at 40%. Even when considering the maximum expenditure so far, it is 47%, and distributing 300,000 won accounts for only about 0.7%."

Lee added, "The reason for maintaining fiscal soundness is to increase fiscal spending capacity when the country faces a crisis," emphasizing, "If we do not spend in situations like now, when will we? There are also research results showing that actively spending can actually improve national fiscal soundness."

Regarding the Future United Party's claim that the 2nd disaster relief fund should be selectively distributed mainly to small business owners and self-employed individuals, Lee said, "I thought the opposition party would come to their senses and change in a good direction, but they only pretended to change," criticizing it as "obstruction by the conservative opposition."

He said, "When the support fund was given to be spent within three months, an economic inducement effect connected to 100% of sales appeared. So why pick certain minorities and waste it? This time, we barely distributed 13 trillion won, and the entire nation felt the holiday peak season for a month and a half to two months. Now, selectively supporting certain groups seems to go against the will of the people, and I think they are doing it deliberately."

Regarding surpassing fellow party member Lee Nak-yeon in the next presidential candidate preference survey, he said, "If you put meaning and obsession on approval ratings, problems arise. The correct answer is not to care." When asked by the host how he would set the relationship if Lee were to become party leader, he said, "I have nothing special to worry about. As a party member, I will actively cooperate and support," adding, "I will do my best to support laying the foundation for regime re-creation."

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