Lee Jae-myung Under Concentrated Attack in TV Debate: "One-Sided 8 to 1... No Chance to Respond"

Detailed Explanation of the 'Basic Income' Policy on Facebook
"A Means to Achieve Growth Recovery and a Fair Society"
"Alleviating Polarization and Expanding Consumption... Necessary for Future Society"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As the first TV debate among the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidates took place, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, provided additional explanations on his flagship policy, the 'Basic Income' plan, on the 4th. He said the reason was that he could not respond properly during the previous debate due to time constraints.

In a post on his Facebook that day, Lee explained the need for further clarification, saying, "In a one-sided debate close to 8 to 1, there was neither enough time to respond properly nor an opportunity to rebut."

He continued, "At this point, the most important primary task for our society is growth recovery, and the secondary task is the realization of a fair society," emphasizing, "Regional currency-type basic income is one of the various means to accomplish these first and second tasks."

Regarding the significance of basic income, Lee argued, "It secures income fairness by alleviating polarization and enables sustainable growth by expanding consumption," calling it "a complex policy necessary for the future society."

On specific policy measures, he explained, "Initially, 500,000 KRW per person annually will be provided, with an additional 500,000 KRW in the mid-term, and in the long term, it will be fully implemented as a basic income earmarked tax."

He also criticized, "Some say that most of the government budget is rigid expenditure, so such finances cannot be secured by budget cuts, but those who want to do it find ways, and those who don't find excuses."

Furthermore, he said, "Depending on social consensus, the basic income could be expanded from specific regions like rural areas to the entire country, from specific age groups like youth to all ages, and from specific groups such as the disabled or cultural artists to all sectors," emphasizing, "Although the feasibility is low due to tax resistance, wealth income tax or guaranteed income could be prioritized over basic income if they can be actually implemented with opposition party support and public consent."

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party presidential primary (center), and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun are greeting each other at the first joint debate held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 3rd, Lee attended the first joint debate of the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidates held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul. On that day, candidates including former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin focused their attacks on Lee's basic income policy.

Former Prime Minister Chung criticized Lee's recent interview with the media where he mentioned that "basic income is not the number one pledge," saying, "He frequently changes his words. Can a leading candidate win the public's trust with such unreliable pledges and achieve regime re-creation?"

Lawmaker Park also said, "Changing words and failing to gain trust makes one a two-faced and unstable politician," and criticized, "Claiming to create 50 trillion KRW through expenditure adjustments is like a martial arts fantasy story."

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon said, "Regarding the primary schedule and differing opinions, he called others 'quack doctors,'" and asked, "Is it right to use such harsh expressions? How about sorting out and discarding the basic income policy altogether?"

In response to these criticisms from fellow candidates, Lee said, "I have not made any pledges yet."

He further explained, "I will announce soon, but the priority is fair growth as the first task, and to enable this, a government’s bold decision and investment are needed to alleviate inequality and polarization and turn crises into opportunities."

Regarding Park's '50 trillion KRW martial arts fantasy' remark, Lee strongly retorted, "Even if he can't do it, I can."

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