Lee Jae-myung: "We Will Create 2 Million Jobs with a 135 Trillion Won Investment" (Comprehensive)

Lee Jae-myung Announces 'Lee Jaenomics'
Economic Policy Announcement Following 5·5·5 Plan
Highlights Image as Competent Economic President
Reveals Pledges on Land, Transportation, Science, and Climate

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, held a New Economic Vision declaration ceremony at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Koo Chae-eun and Jeon Jin-young] The ‘Lee Jae-nomics (Lee Jae-myung + Economics)’ announced by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, on the 11th can be summarized as ‘entering the world’s top 5 economic powers through investment in industry, land, science and technology, and education.’ It is a big plan to focus growth engines on four sectors and become a G5 again. Following the announcement of the ‘5·5·5 pledge’ (KOSPI index 5000, national income $50,000, comprehensive national power ranked 5th in the world) on the 4th, the successive economic policy announcements are a strategy to highlight him as a ‘competent economic president.’

Specifically, he promised to invest 135 trillion won to create 2 million digital specialized jobs. He also stated that the fund of funds for small and venture companies will be expanded to 10 trillion won, the scale of technology guarantees will be doubled to nurture strong small companies, and inclusion in the MSCI developed country index will be pursued.

On the morning of the same day, Lee held a ‘Lee Jae-myung New Economic Vision’ proclamation ceremony at the National Assembly and said, “We are now living in an era of historic great transformation, simultaneously facing energy transition, digital transition, and recently the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding, “Now is the golden time of great transformation.” He presented four major transformations and two major reforms as tasks to enter the top 5 countries. In the industrial sector, he said, “We will proactively build physical, institutional, and human infrastructure for digital transition growth,” promising to nurture 1 million digital specialized future talents, expand MyData (personal credit information management business) to all industrial sectors, and introduce safe data. He especially emphasized that 135 trillion won of digital transition investment will create 2 million new jobs. Lee said, “Following President Park Chung-hee’s ‘industrial highway’ and President Kim Dae-jung’s ‘internet highway,’ we will build an ‘energy highway’ where wind and sunlight run,” mentioning the expansion of the climate response fund and the establishment of a Ministry of Climate and Energy.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is holding a New Economic Vision declaration ceremony at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Regarding the land transformation, he said, “We will develop Korea into a super-regional mega-city with a ‘5 poles and 3 specialties’ system.” Specifically, he proposed reorganizing the national transportation system centered on high-speed rail, early promotion of the Gwangju-Daegu Moonlight Inland Railroad, undergrounding urban railway sections in metropolitan areas such as the Seoul metropolitan area and Busan, and undergrounding major highways. In the science sector, he pledged to promote 10 future strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, and aerospace as a ‘presidential big project,’ proposing the introduction of a Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Technology Innovation and advancing Korea as a space power. Education-related pledges included flexible curricula, establishing an innovation system for regional universities, building university towns, and expanding online-centered university education. In addition, financial reforms such as the ‘one-strike-out system’ for stock manipulation, inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) developed country index, and prevention of small investor damage due to subsidiary splitting listings were also part of Lee Jae-nomics.

Meanwhile, Lee, who announced economic pledges through three schedules on the same day (‘Sae-eol Morning Dialogue’ invited lecture, New Economic Vision proclamation, Digital and Innovation Great Transformation Committee announcement), directly opposed Yoon’s proposal to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. In a lecture at a hotel in Incheon during the Sae-eol Morning Dialogue, he said, “I don’t understand why young people have been divided and fought over gender, and why this has intensified to the point of being used as an election strategy in politics,” adding, “Isn’t it heartbreaking that one has to choose between the two?” Lee will announce the first policy of the Digital and Innovation Great Transformation Committee at the Korea Federation of SMEs building in Seoul in the afternoon. The first policy is the introduction of the ‘Human Capital System’ (a system that supports education expenses in advance for digital talent training and partially repays after employment).

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