Lee Jae-myung "Oh Se-hoon and Yoo Seung-min, Since When Did They Become Pro-Poor by Taking the Rich's Share for the Common People? It's Puzzling"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, advised not to compare his 'basic income,' an economic policy with welfare aspects, on the same level as Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's 'Safe Income' and former National Assembly member Yoo Seung-min's (People Power Party) 'Fair Income,' calling them mere welfare policies.

On the 1st, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "Discriminatory Income Like the Fox Mocking the Crane in Aesop's Fables," starting with, "I recall the annoying fox story who, while hosting the crane, served soup on a plate and then gobbled up even the crane's share."

He continued, "Politicians from the People Power Party, who promised the public as their primary policy to introduce basic income, are presenting 'discriminatory income'?which contradicts the purpose of basic income?as basic income, and even criticize basic income as fake basic income," expressing his lament.

In particular, he said, "Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former Assemblyman Yoo Seung-min propose 'Safe Income' and 'Fair Income,' terms even I have heard for the first time, claiming they will exclude high-income taxpayers and selectively give hundreds of millions to thousands of thousands of won to low-income earners who pay almost no taxes by compensating the difference between actual income and standard income." He added, "It is puzzling when People Power Party politicians, who have represented and defended the wealthy and vested interests, suddenly become so pro-commoners as to redistribute even the wealthy's share to ordinary people."

Furthermore, he questioned, "If it were charity or something fallen from the sky, it might be fair to pay only to the common people, but can a policy that divides high-income and low-income earners?where high earners only pay taxes and low earners only receive benefits?be possible in a democracy where one person has one vote?"

Lee sharply criticized, saying, "It looks plausible, but it seems like the fox in the fable who tries to steal votes by proposing policies that are impossible to implement due to tax resistance, ignoring inequality and polarization."

He also emphasized, "The 'discriminatory income,' which selectively gives low-income groups hundreds of millions to thousands of thousands of won more cash the less they work (according to Safe Income, a four-person household with zero income receives about 30 million won), is indeed a welfare policy. However, basic income, which supports small business sales by providing local currency to all citizens, including taxpayers, thereby revitalizing the economy through demand creation, is an economic policy, not welfare."

He then requested, "Please do not simply compare discriminatory income, which is merely a welfare policy, with basic income, which is a welfare-oriented economic policy, on the same level."

Lee also suggested to Mayor Oh and former Assemblyman Yoo, "Though it may seem trivial, as an addendum, welfare is the state's responsibility and the right of taxpayers under the constitution. Workers employed by taxpayers should never use expressions like 'return' or 'pay' to the owners, nor the phrase 'share' which feels like almsgiving. How could they use such terms?"

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