Lee Jae-myung: "We Will Make Jeju Sustainable... Transforming It into an Environmental Capital"

Lee Visits Jeju 4.3 Peace Education Center, Announces 9 Major Pledges for Sustainable Jeju
Establishing Circular Resource Innovation Cluster and Carbon Neutral Leading City
"Jeju Faces Rising Prices but Low Wages"... Introducing Jeju-style Basic Income

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Jeju=Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 13th that he will create a circular resource innovation city and a carbon-neutral leading city to build a sustainable Jeju, and implement a Jeju-type basic income.

On the morning of the same day, at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Education Center, Candidate Lee stated, "I will restore Jeju to its true self and complete it as a special autonomous province leading the future of the Republic of Korea," and announced the '9 Major Pledges for a Sustainable Jeju.'

Candidate Lee envisions transforming Jeju’s paradigm from a development-centered tourist city into the environmental capital of Korea. He emphasized, "We will introduce an environmental conservation contribution system, invest finances in environmental sectors such as expanding sewage treatment infrastructure and supporting the establishment of an integrated water management system to improve the quality of life for residents," and added, "We will create the Jeju Circular Resource Innovation Cluster to ensure that Jeju’s waste is processed within Jeju and lay the foundation for transitional growth through job creation in the recycling industry."

He also said, "We will expand renewable energy and support achieving carbon neutrality by utilizing surplus electricity as a resource for green hydrogen production. We will convert energy sources 100% to renewable energy such as solar and wind power and foster new energy industries including electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and smart grids," adding, "To this end, we will promote the designation of a distributed energy special zone and establish transmission and distribution network infrastructure, an energy highway, to be first implemented in Jeju."

Candidate Lee promised not only environmental pledges related to Jeju but also to realize the economic basic rights of residents through the pilot introduction of Jeju-type basic income. He stated, "While prices in Jeju continue to rise daily, residents’ wage levels remain among the lowest nationwide. We will pilot the basic income policy of the Lee Jae-myung administration in Jeju," and added, "We will support residents in directly forming energy cooperatives and participating in resident income-type renewable energy projects to expand Jeju residents’ income through solar and wind pensions."

Regarding the Jeju 4.3 Incident, he explained that he will completely resolve it to create a global model for addressing historical injustices and make it a symbol of peace and human rights. To this end, he emphasized, "We will continuously investigate the truth, significantly expand national support for peace and healing industries, and promote the registration of Jeju 4.3 records as UNESCO World Documentary Heritage." He further added, "We will ensure the normal progress of the Jeju Peace Grand Park at the Altteureu Airfield, a symbol of historical pain, and strive to restore the community of Gangjeong Village."

In addition, he promised ▲ completing Jeju’s autonomous decentralization through a cooperation model between central and local governments ▲ expanding national port infrastructure and enhancing competitiveness in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries ▲ improving medical services through designation of advanced general hospitals and establishment of infectious disease specialized hospitals ▲ creating a workation environment that satisfies work, rest, and tourism ▲ fostering biohealth and space data industries to overcome the great transition crisis.

Before announcing the Jeju pledges, Candidate Lee visited the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park, paid respects at the memorial tower, and wrote in the guestbook, "Beyond the old era of retaliation, I will become a competent economic president." This phrase is interpreted as a response to People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl’s recent remarks about 'investigations into deep-rooted evils during his administration.'

Not only President Moon Jae-in but also the ruling party have been fiercely criticizing it daily as 'political retaliation,' and Candidate Lee also criticized Yoon on social media the day before, saying, "It is truly deplorable as it seems he is rather strengthening his intention for political retaliation."

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