Lee Nak-yeon Vows Victory in General Election as 'Jongno Resident'... Professor Lee Sang-yi, Critic of Basic Income, Also Joins

On the 13th, met with key figures of the Democratic Party's Jongno District Committee to explain the background of 'resignation from the National Assembly'
"Basic income is populist politics that ruin the country," criticized Professor Lee Sang-yi, appointed as Chair of the Welfare State Vision Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 13th, former leader and Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon expressed his intention to "repay the kindness with a victory in the general election while living as a resident of Jongno-gu."

Lee Nak-yeon, a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press conference to announce his low birthrate policy pledge at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 13th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On this day, former leader Lee met with officials from the Seoul Jongno district party, his constituency, and explained the background behind his resolute decision to 'resign from his parliamentary seat' for the greater good. He also expressed his apologies and gratitude to his aides who understood the loss of their jobs due to his resignation.

Former leader Lee conveyed this message during a meeting with key members of the local committee at the Democratic Party Jongno office in the morning. At this meeting, he stated that concerns from the party and the public are growing daily due to a series of major setbacks faced by competing candidates, and emphasized the need to select a candidate without moral issues to win the general election. He also revealed that his resignation from the parliamentary seat was a determined decision made as a last stand for the party.

Song Byung-du, advisor to the Jongno District Committee (also chairman of the Steering Committee and the Senior Citizens Committee), said, “We understand the sacrifice of giving up the parliamentary seat to uphold the values of the Democratic Party and democracy,” and added, “Since we have supported Candidate Lee with the general election in mind from the beginning, the residents of Jongno will unite their hearts to prove that his magnanimous decision is the right one.”

Additionally, Yeo Bong-mu, chairman of the Jongno District Council, expressed strong support, saying, “I believe former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon laid the foundation for a comeback starting from Gangwon Province,” and “The Democratic Party Jongno district council members will do their best to work hard.”

Meanwhile, the Lee Nak-yeon campaign launched the Welfare State Vision Committee on the same day, appointing Professor Lee Sang-i of Jeju National University College of Medicine as the chairperson. Professor Lee is a critic of basic income and an advocate for a universal welfare state.

Professor Lee, a universal welfare advocate, founded the Welfare State Society, a non-profit organization, in 2007 and served as co-representative for 13 years. Currently, he serves as policy committee chair. After graduating from medical school, he has been a leading expert and activist in Korea for 30 years, working on expanding health care and welfare and building a dynamic welfare state through civil society movements.

Shortly after the inauguration of the Kim Dae-jung administration, he served as a health care policy expert for the ruling party, participating in the establishment of the National Health Insurance and the institutionalization of the separation of drug prescribing and dispensing. During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he was the director of the Health Insurance Research Institute at the National Health Insurance Corporation, contributing to strengthening health insurance coverage and implementing the 'free medical care starting with cancer' policy. In the 2017 presidential election, he served as the welfare special advisor to candidate Moon Jae-in.

On the 11th, the committee chair posted on Facebook an article titled “Governor Lee Jae-myung’s Basic Income and My Struggle for a Universal Welfare State,” criticizing, “The Democratic Party leadership and politicians have ultimately condoned and refused to discuss basic income populism, which clearly obstructs the path to a universal welfare state, ignoring the rights of party members and the public to know.” He added, “The Democratic Party’s line is to build a universal welfare state, and Governor Lee Jae-myung’s basic income clearly stands in the way of that path.”

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