Sim Sang-jung: "Selective support is a bureaucratic decision... aligned with conservative opposition parties"

"Does Not Consider the Lives of the Majority of Citizens... Deeply Regrettable"

Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, speaking at the Executive Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 3rd of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, criticized the government's decision to selectively provide the second round of disaster relief funds on the 7th as "careless and irresponsible."

In a post on her Facebook that day, Sim said, "The ruling party, government, and Blue House have finalized a plan to prioritize payments to self-employed individuals and vulnerable employment groups severely affected to overcome the livelihood crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is very regrettable."

She added, "This bureaucratic decision does not consider the lives of the majority of citizens suffering from hardship, isolation, fear, and despair due to COVID-19," and "this policy is not the result of the selective vs. universal debate over the second nationwide disaster relief fund but rather a decision that sided with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which tried to reduce the scale of livelihood support by using the fiscal deficit as an excuse."

Earlier, on the 6th, the ruling party, government, and Blue House officially adopted 'selective support,' prioritizing the second disaster relief payments to groups severely affected economically by the COVID-19 crisis or low-income groups.

Regarding this, Sim criticized, "This aligns with the conservative opposition party that thinks supporting companies is an investment while supporting citizens' lives is a cost," and "a lady who lost her job after making a living through cleaning work, an elderly mother whose monthly living expenses sent for several months have stopped, a son who applied for a leave of absence from university because even part-time jobs are hard to find?these sighs and tears born of COVID-19 flow through the veins and permeate the lives of all citizens."

She continued, "Most citizens face an income cliff due to COVID-19, and everyone is struggling," explaining, "Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said support would be faster and thicker for those in more urgent need, but giving to all and then more is what makes it thicker."

She warned, "If the precarious lives of citizens in every corner are left in blind spots, conflicts and resentment between those who receive and those who do not will erupt," expressing concern about "the aftershocks caused by government policy."

She urged, "Do not disguise fairness by not giving disaster relief funds to the wealthy; it is more just for the National Assembly to unite in raising resources to overcome the disaster crisis by collecting a super-rich tax," and requested the government to reconsider, calling for a comprehensive review of the selective disaster relief payments, hoping that the lives of citizens endangered by the universal reduction in household income due to COVID-19 will not be neglected.

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