Lee Jae-myung Urges Strict Investigation by Korea Institute of Public Finance for Direct Denial of Moon Jae-in Government's Local Currency Policy

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, called the report by the Korea Institute of Public Finance, a national policy research institute under the Prime Minister's Office, which argued the uselessness of local currency, "absurd" and immediately urged a strict 'investigation' and 'disciplinary action.' The Korea Institute of Public Finance is an institution that selects research topics in consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

On the 15th, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "5 Reasons Why the Korea Institute of Public Finance’s Report Belittling Local Currency Is Absurd," raising suspicions about why the institute released a report disparaging local currency at this time and rebutting the report’s content point by point.

Lee first stated, "The Korea Institute of Public Finance, a national policy research institute under the Prime Minister's Office, criticized the local currency policy, claiming it is a useless system that only wastes the budget," and evaluated, "The research results released by the Korea Institute of Public Finance, which studies and supports government policies funded by taxpayers’ money, are nonsense in terms of timing, content, and purpose."

He added, "The Moon Jae-in administration’s core policy is to strengthen the capabilities of 30 million small business owners and 6 million self-employed individuals and to support the revitalization of local commercial districts by paying 30% of newly introduced welfare allowances and welfare points in hometown love gift certificates, a local currency dedicated to neighborhood businesses," criticizing, "This report by the Korea Institute of Public Finance directly denies the local currency policy, a key major policy of the Moon Jae-in government."

The Moon Jae-in administration has been supporting the local currency policy since last year in accordance with its pledges. The first round of emergency disaster relief funds was also electronic local currency. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced, "Next year, 1.8 trillion won will be allocated in the budget for local love gift certificates (local currency) and consumption coupons to generate 20 trillion won in private consumption."

Lee also questioned why the report cited past government local currency statistics at this point in time.

He argued, "The research content pertains to local currency from 2010 to 2018, before the Moon Jae-in government fully implemented local currency, which is disconnected from the current local currency implementation period, and it is strange to suddenly release research results from two years ago (unrelated to the current government) at this time."

Lee directly rebutted the report’s claim about wasteful spending on local currency.

He said, "Local currency mandates that government subsidies be used within a certain period only at small business neighborhood commercial districts in the resident area, aligning with the purpose of revitalizing the local and regional economy, increasing income, and inducing increased sales and production," and pointed out, "Yet the report disparages local currency as useless budget waste and claims that 'using small neighborhood stores instead of large marts reduced consumer welfare,' completely denying the Moon Jae-in government’s core policy goal of promoting small-scale neighborhood businesses."

Lee also highlighted that the 'problematic' report contradicts research results from other national policy institutions.

He noted, "The Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, a research institute under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, analyzed that local currency is a very useful policy that should be expanded, and the Gyeonggi Research Institute also released similar research results," adding, "I am curious why the Korea Institute of Public Finance produced research results that contradict these."

Finally, Lee urged a strict investigation and disciplinary action against the Korea Institute of Public Finance.

He asserted, "It is absolutely necessary to conduct a strict investigation and disciplinary action regarding why the Korea Institute of Public Finance, which selects research topics in consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, submitted such an absurd research result at this time that lacks timeliness and completeness of content, contradicts research results from other government research institutions and government policy directions, and ignores the economic effects felt by the entire nation, approaching a political claim."

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