Democratic Party Forms New Welfare Special Committee... Lee Nak-yeon Asks, "Should We Ignore People's Suffering During Elections?"

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea has formed the 'National Living Standards 2030 Pan-National Special Committee' to promote a new welfare vision.

On the 19th, Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon stated at the Supreme Council meeting, "Today, we decided to form the National Living Standards 2030 Special Committee within the party to draft the blueprint for the new welfare system I proposed." He added, "We appointed Hong Ik-pyo, Chairman of the Policy Committee, and Kim Yeon-myeong, Professor at Chung-Ang University (former Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Blue House), as co-chairmen. Moving forward, we will operate this as a pan-national special committee by involving the party and civil society."

He continued, "Since 2015, the World Bank and international organizations have recommended the need to establish a universal social insurance system, and we have accepted that. Beyond forming a welfare state, we aim to build an advanced welfare state that fits our economic ideals," emphasizing, "The new welfare system is a vision that will bring about a major transformation of Korea's welfare system in the post-COVID-19 era."

Leader Lee said, "It includes comprehensive social services essential to people's lives, such as support for children, youth, and the elderly, as well as housing, education, healthcare, care services, and the environment." He added, "We plan to establish the specific contents and phased implementation roadmap of National Living Standards 2030. Mandatory education for five-year-olds has already been proposed. Please prepare to present other proposals consecutively."

Regarding disaster relief funds, he presented principles: "First, minimize blind spots and provide robust support; second, provide substantial assistance for damage recovery; third, ensure prompt approval and execution of supplementary budgets." He added, "We will accelerate party-government consultations within a few days."

In response to opposition party attacks, Leader Lee said, "As the election approaches, I want to ask the opposition whether it is right to ignore the suffering of the people, and whether this is not just electioneering." He criticized, "Especially since the opposition leader mentioned 100 trillion won in support just the other day, I want to ask why they are now saying something different."

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