Na Kyung-won: "Park Young-sun, Happiness Based on Marriage and Childbirth? Is She Trying to Become the 'Moon Market' Mayor?"

"No Need for Sweet Expressions or Romantic Rhetoric"

Ignoring the Frustration Over Housing Prices
Discussing Happiness and Joy Is a 'Luxury'

How Can We Talk About Happiness Without Housing Stability?

Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, a candidate in the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral by-election primary, is announcing job policy pledges in front of Seoul Botanic Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul on the 7th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Na Kyung-won, a former lawmaker and a candidate in the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral primary, responded on the 8th to former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, who criticized her pledge to provide financial support for public housing for young people and newlyweds. Na said, "Ignoring the frustration and deprivation citizens feel when they see housing prices rise by tens of millions of won overnight and talking about happiness and joy is a 'luxury.'"

On the same day, in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' former Minister Park said, "I find it hard to agree with linking marriage or childbirth issues to money," adding, "I believe we should approach this by making urban life happier and making it easier to raise children after childbirth. The condition for a city's success is that a joyful city succeeds."

In response, Na immediately posted on Facebook, "Candidate Park said that the prerequisite for marriage and childbirth is 'happiness,' and that she finds it difficult to agree with linking it to money. She said that a joyful city would lead to more marriages and childbirths," adding, "Then, how will you make citizens happy and joyful? Can housing stability be excluded from that 'how to'?"

Screenshot of former lawmaker Na Kyung-won's Facebook

She continued, "What citizens need now is not sweet expressions or romantic rhetoric," adding, "Listen directly to the voices of citizens. Our young people say, 'I want to get married, but there is no place to live,' and young couples say, 'We are not financially capable of raising children.' They are desperate right now."

Na pointed out that despite the Moon Jae-in administration investing 96 trillion won over three years, the annual number of births last year was in the 270,000 range, indicating that the low birthrate policies have been ineffective. She said, "Housing instability has a very large and direct negative impact on non-marriage and low birthrates," asking, "In a city where there is no dream of owning a home and no place to live immediately, can our citizens truly be happy and joyful?"

She also said, "The current young generation is called the '3-give-up generation' for giving up dating, marriage, and childbirth. A city where dreams are given up is a city without a future, a city that is not joyful at all," adding, "We want to support their dreams. We want to create an environment where they can marry and have children freely. Happiness begins exactly like that."

Na also urged candidate Park not to deny reality. She emphasized, "Unless you want to become the mayor of the moon, you really need to listen to the voices of our citizens."

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