'2nd Disaster Relief Fund' Oh Se-hoon "Would you do that if it's your own household?" Lee Jae-myung "Of course, if you endure, everyone dies"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is holding a press conference appealing to the public regarding the metropolitan area outbreak of the novel coronavirus on the morning of the 20th of last month at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] On the 2nd, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung responded to former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's criticism of his call for a second round of disaster relief payments to all citizens, saying, "Would you do that if it were your own household?" by replying, "Of course I would."

In an interview with YTN Radio's 'Lee Dong-hyung's News Face-off' on the 2nd, Governor Lee stated, "Even if it is a personal household, if the house is on fire, saying 'let's endure it because we shouldn't go into debt' or 'let's go live under a bridge' is the same. It's an unreasonable decision."

He emphasized, "Even if you receive 10 million won now, you may not be able to get a nice house, but you should quickly find a rented room and live. If you just endure, everyone will die."

Regarding Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, who advocates selective payments, he pointed out, "In a crisis where everyone is struggling, exclusion causes feelings of alienation and anger," and criticized, "The economic officials' perspective is somewhat limited."

Governor Lee expressed displeasure at Hong Nam-ki's evaluation of him as "immature," saying, "I think this is the first time I've heard that since elementary school."

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki attended the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee plenary session, where Im Eui-ja of the People Power Party asked, "Governor Lee Jae-myung says that even if disaster relief payments of 300,000 won are given 50 or 100 times, there is no concern about fiscal soundness. What do you think of Governor Lee's opinion?" and added, "Isn't that a very immature statement?" Hong replied, "Yes, I think so. It could be a statement that might cause misunderstanding among the public," which sparked controversy.

When asked about views that the call for a second disaster relief payment was aimed at the presidential election, Governor Lee dismissed it, saying, "Now is not the time to think about the presidential election. I am just saying we should use available resources as effectively as possible, not making any calculations."

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