Yoon Hee-sook on Lee Jae-myung's Basic Income: "It's Like Scattering Taxes Like Cherry Blossoms in Spring"

Lee Jae-myung "Youth 2 Million KRW Per Year, 1 Million KRW Basic Income Pledge for All Citizens"

People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Hee-sook is recently being interviewed by Yonhap News at her office in the National Assembly Members' Office Building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 22nd, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced a basic income pledge to provide 2 million KRW annually to youth and 1 million KRW annually to all other citizens during his presidential term. In response, Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, sharply criticized it as "sprinkling taxes like cherry blossom petals fluttering on a spring day."

Yoon, who declared her presidential bid, posted on her Facebook on the same day a post titled "I appreciate the whistleblowing about severe budget waste, but to scatter the money prepared like cherry blossom petals on a spring day is disqualification as a leader."

She sarcastically said, "Governor Lee claims he can easily secure more than 50 trillion KRW through fiscal structural reform. I appreciate the courage to expose that their government wastes about 10% of expenditures."

She added, "While you're at it, I would appreciate it if you could also inform the public in detail about where exactly the cuts should be made. It could help another person who becomes president to carry out fiscal reform."

Yoon also criticized, "While I appreciate the courageous whistleblowing, looking at the plan on how to use the enormous funds you intend to secure, I think it is unreasonable for Governor Lee to run the country directly."

She pointed out, "What can be done with the 70 trillion KRW needed for Governor Lee's basic income plan? The total basic living security for the poor is just over 4 trillion KRW. Even if you combine all tuition fees for universities and colleges nationwide, it amounts to 13 trillion KRW. The basic pension for the elderly is only 19 trillion KRW," adding, "This means it is money that could dramatically expand education and welfare."

Furthermore, she said, "The defense budget is currently 53 trillion KRW. This amount is enough to thoughtfully plan for either weapon modernization or a volunteer military system," and criticized, "R&D expenditure is only 27 trillion KRW. If this budget had been increased by this amount, we would already be a vaccine advanced country, not just a vaccine origin country."

Finally, Yoon concluded, "No matter how desperately you dream such dreams, national funds require strenuous efforts every year to secure even a little more money. Cherry blossom petals fluttering on a spring day may look beautiful and tempting, but it is fleeting and hollow," and questioned, "Isn't this underestimating the people of 21st-century Korea too much for a leader's vision?"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is holding a policy pledge press conference via video conference at the National Assembly Members' Office Building video conference room on the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Governor Lee pledged to provide a basic income of 1 million KRW annually to all citizens and 2 million KRW annually to youth during his presidential term.

At a press conference for the 'Lee Jae-myung 2nd Policy Announcement for the Presidential Primary' held at the National Assembly Communication Office, he said, "I will provide all citizens with at least 1 million KRW annually in non-refundable local currency," adding, "Starting with a one-time payment of 250,000 KRW per person in 2023, the year following the start of the term, I will increase it to at least four times during the term."

Governor Lee also stated, "I will expand the Gyeonggi Province Youth Basic Income nationwide and provide about 7 million youths aged 19 to 29, who have become a vulnerable group, with an additional 1 million KRW annually from 2023 on top of the universal basic income."

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