Lee Jae-myung: "Opposition, Stop Hoping for Opponent's Mistakes in Politics"... Yoon Hee-sook: "Not Patient Enough to Wait for Mistakes"

Yoon Hee-sook: "I asked to see if presidential candidates maintained consistency"

Yoon Hee-sook, member of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, criticized Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung on the 1st regarding the 'wealth-proportional fine system,' saying, "It seems like he is filling the poverty of philosophy with ad hominem attacks and petty arguments."

On the same day, Yoon wrote on her Facebook, "After two days of contemplation, the answer he came up with was barely 'Can the principles of welfare operated by taxes and sanctions for maintaining order be the same?'"

She added, "While saying that the application logic should differ depending on the situation, he should answer why the same amount should be supported to citizens with different circumstances," and pointed out, "'Fines should vary according to personal circumstances to be fair,' but why should cash support ignore circumstances and provide the same amount to be fair?"

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Governor Lee criticized on his Facebook, "The People Power Party has continued to criticize the 'fair fine' daily, and eventually made a 'reductio ad absurdum' interpretation by comparing the differential characteristics of the 'fair fine' for practical fairness with the universality of basic income, confessing that 'basic income is unfair'." The term '삭족적리' (削足適履) means 'cutting one's foot to fit a shoe,' metaphorically referring to forcibly applying something irrationally.

Governor Lee also targeted Yoon, an economic expert with a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in the U.S., saying, "I don't understand why such outstanding economic experts with overseas study experience and doctoral degrees in the People Power Party make such elementary mistakes," and sarcastically added, "It's time to stop the 'guest mistake politics' that waits for the opponent's mistakes and failures without capability and only hopes for luck."

Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Yoon said, "I am not idle enough to wait for the governor's mistakes," and countered, "As a citizen curious whether he has at least minimal consistency as a presidential candidate and whether there is a philosophy as a leader behind it, I asked these questions."

She continued, "Answer when you are ready, and do not cheapen this debate when you are unprepared," and pointed out, "Unnecessarily mentioning 'overseas study and a doctoral degree' only proves the suspicion that you are a populist politician who survives by inciting antipathy toward experts."

She also said, "As an expert who has researched universal and selective welfare, I would like to offer a word for your preparation," and criticized, "No country debates at the national level whether to choose universal or selective welfare. Misleading the public to choose one by opposing the two is just a political show where people like Governor Lee misuse the welfare system to create their own brand."

Furthermore, Yoon emphasized, "Your statement that because I advocate selective welfare, fines should also be selective is a repeated 'careless or intentional misreading' by you," and stressed, "Unlike you, who claim 'wealth-proportional fines are fair,' I argued that 'differential fines' are an issue that should be discovered through social discussion regarding in what sense they are fair or unfair."

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