Ahn Cheol-soo Criticizes Lee Jun-seok's Disaster Relief Fund Agreement: "I Wish It Had Been Just a Happening"

"Give Wings to Populism"
"After Supporting Small Business Owners, Any Remaining Funds Should Be Used to Repay National Debt"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, for his decision regarding the ‘nationwide disaster relief fund agreement.’ Ahn raised doubts about the ruling philosophy of the main opposition party, using expressions such as ‘sincerity’ and ‘populism’ to condemn the decision.

On the 13th, Ahn pointed out on Facebook that Lee’s agreement with Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, the previous day on the nationwide disaster relief fund was "like giving wings to the ruling party’s populist vote-buying act." He said, "Although it was conditioned on the premise that the fund would be used only if there were remaining resources after selective support, it has lost the justification to prevent the future distribution of nationwide disaster relief funds," adding, "This is very different from the main opposition party’s previous stance, which criticized the disaster relief fund for the bottom 80% income bracket and credit card cashback in the second supplementary budget as typical populist vote-buying budgets."

Ahn said, "It raises doubts about what the main opposition party’s national governance philosophy is regarding resolving economic and social inequality and polarization," and asked, "What is the true intention of the main opposition party?"

He argued, "Disaster relief funds should primarily support small business owners and self-employed individuals," and added, "If there are remaining resources after that, they should be used to support low-income groups and repay national debt for the future of the youth." He criticized, "How can the idea of distributing funds to the entire population come about? There are people who have suffered no economic damage from COVID-19, and some whose income has even increased. How can it be explained that we are borrowing money to distribute disaster relief funds to these people as well?"

Ahn emphasized, "To set the Republic of Korea on the right path, we must remove the dark shadow of populism," and stressed, "We must boldly fight against popularity-seeking politics that exploit national disasters as opportunities for political self-interest."

He said, "Disaster relief funds are literally meant to support those who have suffered disasters," and added, "Giving them to those who have not suffered disasters is not disaster relief funds." He continued, "What is needed now more than anything is a mid- to long-term strategy and mindset," expressing concern that "the long tunnel of COVID-19 may not end anytime soon."

Ahn concluded, "Both the ruling and opposition parties should not be obsessed only with next year’s presidential election," and said, "I hope yesterday’s agreement between the ruling party and the main opposition party was just a momentary incident."

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