Lee Nak-yeon Taking the Lead... Concerns Over Party Bias in Economic Policy

Representative Lee Holds 'Economic Situation Review Meeting' Reflecting Strong Will
Even Within Government, Concerns Arise Over "Policy Confusion Due to Excessive Political Interests"
Political Circles Analyze It as a Move to Broaden Steps as a Presidential Candidate

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister of Economy, and Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader, are attending the economic situation review meeting held at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Jang Sehee and Jeon Jinyoung] Regarding the meeting held by Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the morning of the 21st at the National Assembly to gather economic ministers for an economic situation review meeting, concerns are emerging within the government that excessive political interests may interfere, potentially causing policy confusion in the future.

The meeting was attended by Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance; Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor; Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups.

This economic situation review meeting is known to strongly reflect the will of Lee Nak-yeon. It is generally considered unusual that the economic situation review meeting, which is usually chaired by the President or Prime Minister, has been moved to the party level. This is interpreted as the party stepping forward to design and revise policies in response to worsening public opinion on issues such as the 'major shareholder requirement of 300 million won' and 'real estate measures.'

President Moon Jae-in held a special economic and financial situation review meeting in March as COVID-19 spread, and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun also chaired a confidential economic situation review meeting just three days earlier on the 18th. As the number of 'mothers-in-law'?the Blue House, the Prime Minister, and the party?increased, the consistency of policies has been hindered. For example, the Ministry of Economy and Finance decided in June through the 'Financial Tax System Advancement Plan' to allow a 20 million won deduction only for capital gains on domestic listed stocks, but after President Moon instructed to "stimulate investment enthusiasm," the deduction limit was promptly raised to 50 million won.

In this context, concerns are rising within the government that the tilted playing field between the party and government will deepen. The party has exercised policy leadership on various issues, and if the economic situation review meeting is chaired by the party leader, the party’s involvement from the policy design stage to final revision could intensify policy distortion.

In such cases, policies may be swayed by public opinion and popular sentiment. A government official said, "The policy leadership has completely shifted to the National Assembly side," adding, "As policy directions change swayed by public opinion, policy distortion occurs." Another official said, "In politics, if public opinion is unfavorable, policies are not pursued, but there are policies that must be pursued even if public opinion is unfavorable, and policies that should not be pursued even if public opinion is favorable." If policies are created too biased toward ideological camp-based public opinion, side effects may arise.

In the political sphere, the meeting is analyzed as a move by Lee Nak-yeon to broaden his steps as a presidential candidate. Recently, he has been accelerating responses to current issues by consecutively forming task forces (TFs). Earlier, when public opinion worsened regarding the real estate market, he launched the party’s Future Housing Promotion TF to directly address market problems, and at the highest council meeting on this day, he approved the formation of the 'Small but Certain Happiness Committee,' known as the 'Sohwakhaeng Committee.' Along with long-term measures such as real estate, he intends to comprehensively address economic issues that can be resolved in a short time, such as transportation costs, housing costs, and tuition fees.

A senior Democratic Party lawmaker said, "The ruling party intends to clearly present directions on economic issues such as the jeonse (key money deposit) crisis during the real estate phase," adding, "Today's meeting was convened on the premise that the party and government will work together to overcome the situation."

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