Lee Jae-myung, Taking 'Comeback Lockdown' with Voiced Consonants, Says "I Will Be the Economy and Livelihood President"

Lee Jae-myung "5th in National Power Worldwide, $50,000 National Income"
"Will Become a Competent Economy and Livelihood President"
"Will Not Distinguish Between Camps or Ideologies for 'National Unity and Pragmatism'"
"Real Estate Issues... Will Achieve Sufficient Supply and Market Stability Rather Than Fighting the Market"
"Formal Request to Ruling and Opposition Parties for Large-Scale Supplementary Budget Discussion"

[Asia Economy Reporters Koo Chae-eun and Jeon Jin-young] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, held a New Year's press conference on the 4th and declared, "I will become an economic president and a people's president strong in times of crisis." He also presented a blueprint specifically aiming for the nation's power to rank among the world's top 5 (G5 - the five major countries) and to advance toward a per capita income of $50,000.

Amid the People Power Party's election campaign committee facing a complete dismantling and internal discord, Lee emphasized his advantages over his opponent during the morning press conference, highlighting "stable national governance," "172 seats in the National Assembly," and "policy competence and execution power." With various New Year's opinion polls showing him surpassing candidate Yoon Seok-youl, he plans to use this momentum to achieve a "definitive reversal in approval ratings."

Choosing the Kia Motors factory in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, as the venue for the press conference appears to be part of showcasing his "policy capability." At the event, Lee said, "For a great leap forward for the nation, I will not discriminate based on faction or ideology if the talent is competent and the policy is good, grounded in national unity and pragmatism." Regarding real estate issues, he stated, "Rather than suppressing prices and fighting the market, the core goal is to protect non-homeowners and single-homeowners, ensuring sufficient supply and market stabilization." He also pledged to ease reconstruction and redevelopment regulations in a reasonable direction that helps stabilize housing prices. He added, "Just as we temporarily defer the heavy capital gains tax on multi-homeowners and correct unreasonable comprehensive real estate taxes, we will also ease reconstruction and redevelopment regulations in a reasonable way that contributes to housing price stability."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, visited the Kia Motors plant in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province on the 4th, touring the factory while being guided by Vice President Choi Jun-young and Plant Manager Yoo Cheol-hee. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Lee identified four major crises facing South Korea as ▲COVID-19 ▲low growth and polarization ▲climate issues and technological competition ▲global hegemony competition. He announced, "I formally request the National Assembly's deliberation on a large-scale supplementary budget." He promised, "We will strive to supply a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine to the public within the first half of this year," and "We will expand public healthcare to establish a 'manageable medical system' under any circumstances." He added, "With the newly reborn Democratic Party and 172 seats, we will support stable national governance."

Starting from this press conference, Lee plans to announce detailed policy pledges once a week from the 6th onward. This strategy aims to maximize the timing advantage as the opponent's campaign committee remains in a 'business suspension' state. It is also a strategy to solidify the trend of overtaking candidate Yoon through so-called 'policy clarity.' A campaign official explained, "There is a clear trend of wanting a problem-solving leader, and we will continue to highlight Lee's image as a task-oriented leader."

Inside and outside the campaign, there is an evident upbeat mood due to the recent reversal in approval ratings, but there is also a shared sense that tension must not be relaxed since there is still enough time and space to allow a comeback before the official campaign period (February 15 to March 8). A Democratic Party second-term lawmaker said in a phone interview, "To form a 'dominant narrative,' Lee must maintain a stable lead of 5 to 6 percentage points over candidate Yoon," adding, "He needs to rise to as high as 45% to move into risk management mode."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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