Lee Nak-yeon Promotes 'NYnomics'... "Creating an Economy Where 70% of the People Become Middle Class"

On the 31st Policy Debate, Next Government Announces 'Job-Led Growth Middle-Class Economic Theory'
Aiming to Create 70% Middle Class... Presents Strategies for Technology, Green, People, Inclusion, and Fair Growth

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 31st, Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed the 'Middle-Class Economy Theory of Job-Led Growth,' which aims to create good jobs to help socioeconomically vulnerable groups enter the middle class and to protect the middle class so they can maintain a stable life, as the economic vision for the next government.

Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Nak-yeon, presented the "Middle-Class Economy Theory of Job-Led Growth" as the economic vision for the next government at the policy forum titled "An Economy That Protects My Life," held on the 31st at the CCMM Building Convention Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. The event was co-hosted with Members of the National Assembly Hong Ik-pyo, Park Kwang-on, Jung Tae-ho, Hong Ki-won, and Hong Sung-guk, and organized by Lee's think tank, Yeondae wa Gongsaeng. Photo by Lee Nak-yeon Office

On the same day, Lee held a policy forum titled "An Economy That Protects My Life" at the CCMM Building Convention Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, co-hosted with National Assembly members Hong Ik-pyo, Park Kwang-on, Jung Tae-ho, Hong Ki-won, and Hong Sung-guk, and organized by Lee's think tank 'Yeondae wa Gongsaeng.' He stated, "By creating a middle-class economy based on new welfare, we can form a new middle class and restore the existing middle class, which will alleviate inequality and enable the economy to sustain growth."

Lee presented three goals for the 'middle-class economy': first, to create an economy where 70% of the population belongs to the middle class; second, to raise the labor income share from the current 60.7% to 70% to reduce wage disparities; and third, to increase the employment rate from 66.2% to 70%.

Lee explained the background of the middle-class economy theory, saying, "The middle-class economy is growth with employment, and the core is creating good jobs. It involves resolving youth unemployment, which initially blocks entry into the middle class, thereby laying a growth ladder. The middle class is central to production, income, and consumption activities, and a robust middle class increases resilience to absorb shocks and recover from crises."

To this end, Lee announced plans to pursue five major growth strategies: technological growth, green growth, human growth, inclusive growth, and fair growth.

First, the technological growth strategy aims to create one million good jobs through technological innovation, including 27,000 in semiconductors, 150,000 in future vehicles, 300,000 in bio-health, 170,000 in drones, and 400,000 in digital ventures. To achieve this, Lee plans to establish a comprehensive support system for future industries by promoting the Future Industry Support Act, allocating special budgets for vaccine bio-industry support, establishing an innovation investment bank, and shifting investment methods for small and medium-sized ventures. This is part of the 'Core Tech 2030' strategy to lead the era of technological hegemony.

Regarding the green growth strategy, Lee said, "We will make green growth a new middle-class job model." To this end, he intends to develop Korea Electric Power Corporation into a platform company for renewable energy, introduce a fair wage system for green growth, and promote support for the ESG ecosystem of small and medium enterprises.

Additionally, Lee outlined the 'human growth strategy,' emphasizing that "economic growth is growth for people and by people." He plans to innovate vocational and university education and invest heavily in nurturing future talent to increase youth employment and help future generations enter the middle class. This includes fully implementing the German-style dual system, where theory is learned at school and practical skills at innovative companies, special budget allocations for education to cultivate new collar workers (MZ generation capable of applying new technologies such as AI, big data, and cloud computing in practice), and establishing a special fund for talent development.

Lee also addressed inclusive and fair growth strategies, stressing, "We will enhance economic sustainability and help restore the middle class through fair market order and fair wages."

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