Lee Jae-myung: "'Fiscal Damage Populism' Criticism Is Unacceptable"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 19th. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Nana Lee] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who announced that he would give up the 'First-Time Youth National Pension Support Project,' one of Gyeonggi Province's key policies, due to opposition from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, asserted, "In a fair world, the retroactive payment of the National Pension must also be equitable."

On the 25th, Governor Lee stated through SNS, "Gyeonggi Province has decided to abandon the First-Time Youth National Pension Support Project it was promoting due to opposition from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and instead will consider promotional policies such as providing incentives to enrolled youth."

He pointed out, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which created the 'policy allowing retroactive payment for those aged 18 and over' nationwide, argues that 'benefits cannot be given only to youth in Gyeonggi Province and that Gyeonggi's policy to support the first installment payment damages pension finances.' I find it difficult to readily agree with this claim."

He added, "As a member of the Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party government, in a position where I must strive for the success of the administration and government with a one-team spirit beyond minor differences, it is not possible to push forward three major free welfare policies by invoking local autonomy while defying the Park Geun-hye administration's opposition."

Governor Lee stated, "Government policies operated with taxpayers' money, not charity, must be known to all eligible recipients, be accessible to all, and be designed so that there is no problem even if all eligible recipients use them," and criticized, "It is unacceptable to oppose and criticize local government policies that support 'increasing the number of policy beneficiaries' as fiscal-damaging populism."

He said, "It is clear that it is unfair and unjust for only a very small portion to use the National Pension, which is a resource for everyone, while the majority suffer losses."

Finally, he added, "I request the authorities to pursue a reasonable policy that allows all citizens to receive retroactive benefits fairly, even if it means shortening the allowable retroactive payment period."

Among Governor Lee's promoted policies, the 'First-Time Youth National Pension Support Project' is a policy where Gyeonggi Province supports the first month's National Pension premium (90,000 KRW) for youth aged 18 in the province, enabling them to receive more National Pension benefits in old age.

However, since the end of 2018, Gyeonggi Province has been negotiating social security matters with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but the ministry has opposed the project citing reasons such as the normalization of exempted payers and fairness with other local governments.

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