Hong Joon-pyo Criticizes "Moon, Following South America That Failed Debt Party"

"If Managed Like Personal Property, Government Funds Can't Be Squandered Recklessly"

Hong Joon-pyo, an independent member of the National Assembly, is delivering a greeting at the full meeting of the National Defense Committee held in Yeouido, Seoul, last July.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo strongly criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's national debt, saying it is "heading toward a failed South American country that only held debt parties."

On the 2nd, Hong posted on his Facebook, "Since President Moon Jae-in took office, the national debt has surged and is said to soon reach the 1,000 trillion won era. The interest could amount to hundreds of trillions annually," he said.

Hong then shared an anecdote from his time as Governor of Gyeongnam in 2012 when he achieved a surplus administration. He said, "Right after taking office, I received a report that the debt was as high as 1.377 trillion won and the interest cost hundreds of billions annually. I judged that continuing a debt party administration through reckless fiscal management would be a great sin against the residents."

He continued, "I immediately formed a fiscal inspection team to prevent unnecessary budget waste and undertook administrative and fiscal reforms, achieving zero debt and a surplus administration within three years and six months without selling a single piece of land," he explained.

Hong said, "According to the government’s budget proposal announced yesterday for next year, the national debt will increase to 945 trillion won. This is 105.6 trillion won more than this year’s year-end forecast of 839.4 trillion won," and criticized, "Despite this, the government is focusing on cracking down on Samsung and doctors, while insisting that the real estate market, where the price of one pyeong of an apartment has soared to 100 million won, is gradually stabilizing."

He added, "Whether it is the country’s finances or personal finances, if managed like one’s own property, money cannot be spent recklessly," and wrote, "This morning reminds me of the Chinese philosophy of Houhei (厚黑), meaning 'thick face and black heart' (面厚心黑)."

Houhei philosophy was proposed by Li Zongwu (李宗吾), who lived in the early Republic of China in 1912, and it means that to become a hero and succeed, one must have a thick-skinned shamelessness and a thoroughly black heart.

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