Lee Nak-yeon, "Investing 250 Trillion Won Over 5 Years in COVID-19 Recovery and New Industry Development"

Proposal for 'Next Korea Project' on the 7th
Proactive investment over the next president's 5-year term... 250 trillion won investment planned for economic revival in the post-Corona era
"Strengthening national responsibility and investment for people's happiness and middle-class expansion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Former leader and Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon said on the 7th, "We will promote an investment of about 250 trillion won to newly revive the Republic of Korea with the goal of recovering from COVID-19 and transforming into a world-leading country."

Former leader Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office that morning and stated, "The next five-year presidential term will determine Korea's survival in the global economic revival battle, and with this resolve, I propose the 'Next Korea Project.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Next Korea Project aims to strengthen the state's responsibility and investment to enhance citizens' happiness and expand the middle class. To this end, it plans to invest a total of 250 trillion won over the next five years of the presidential term, including ▲40 trillion won for sufficient support to recover small business owners and self-employed individuals severely affected by COVID-19 ▲124 trillion won for fostering new industries to expand the middle class to 70% and create jobs ▲2 trillion won for human investment in new industry sectors ▲83 trillion won for infrastructure construction to foster regional industries and local revitalization.

First, at least 20 trillion won will be invested in loss compensation and damage support for small business owners and self-employed individuals. Additionally, 20 trillion won will be invested to introduce a Korean-style wage stabilization system (PPP, Paycheck Protection Program) to overcome COVID-19 and address the employment crisis, as well as to implement the Bank of Korea's financial intermediary support loan program for youth new hires and employment retention during the loss compensation calculation period to support sustainable management.

Furthermore, to transition from a follower-type to a leading economy in the post-COVID era and foster new industries to expand the middle class to 70% and increase jobs, 36 trillion won will be invested in semiconductors, future cars, bio-health, drones, digital ventures, etc., 4 trillion won in the space sector for the Korean version of the Apollo Project, 48.8 trillion won in green growth for the middle-class economy succeeding the Korean New Deal, and 35 trillion won in service industry development, totaling 124 trillion won. Through this, about 2 million jobs are expected to be created (1 million in core tech, 660,000 in green growth, and 300,000 in the service industry).

Along with this, 1.9 trillion won will be invested in vocational training in new industry sectors, and educational investment will be expanded by fully introducing nano-degrees for undergraduates at 10 regional national universities, fully implementing the German dual system, and designating specialized short-term professional colleges (2-year) responsible for practical education suitable for regionally specialized industries.

In addition, former leader Lee promised to revitalize local areas by investing about 83 trillion won in infrastructure construction for fostering regional industries and local revitalization.

Former leader Lee emphasized, "The national budget is a foundational asset for Korea's revival in the post-COVID era, and proactive expansionary fiscal policy is necessary," adding, "'The Next Korea Project' reflects the state's will to strengthen responsibility and investment for citizens' happiness and middle-class expansion."

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