'One Month of Transition Team' Ahn Cheol-soo: "In One Word, Regret... The Most Silent Work Ever" (Summary)

Ahn Cheol-soo Shares 'One Month' Reflections at Press Conference
"Next President's Government Will Be the First to Launch Long-term Policies Despite Mistakes"
Key Tasks by Sector to Be Announced Starting This Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyemin and Geum Boryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, Chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, described the past month of the committee’s activities in one word as "regret." However, he emphasized, "We are quietly doing our work without controversy more than any previous transition committee."

As the chairman working on establishing the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s national agenda, he also stated, "Even if the next or the following president reaps the benefits, we will be the first government to start long-term policies spanning 10 to 20 years." Regarding agendas such as pension reform, he said, "It must be carried out," adding, "The role of the transition committee is to create a Social Grand Integration Organization and initiate discussions."

Chairman Ahn made these remarks during a press briefing held at the transition committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, marking one month since the official launch of the committee.

The transition committee, which officially launched on the 18th of last month, is now at the halfway point of its marathon with about three weeks remaining. Chairman Ahn expressed, "I wish I had not two but a thousand ears and feet," and reflected, "I once again deeply felt that the people have many things they want to say, not only for themselves but also for their families and the country."

Conscious of criticisms that no significant national policy direction has been visible during the month of activities, Ahn said, "There were concerned voices questioning our presence, but I want to emphasize that we have worked nonstop for four weeks," and added, "The postponement of government organization restructuring was also a result of respecting the will of the people and the National Assembly." He then self-assessed, "Regarding the transition committee’s core tasks of organizing national philosophy and agenda, we have been quietly and diligently working without causing controversy, receiving evaluations better than any previous transition committee."

Chairman Ahn announced that from this week, major tasks by division will be revealed. The entire national agenda will be announced early next month. He said, "The national agenda will be divided into immediately feasible tasks and mid- to long-term tasks," emphasizing, "We will eliminate the chronic problem of focusing only on short-term achievements within the president’s term and become the first government to start policies that require 10 or 20 years." He added, "This government will be criticized for spending costs without any achievements, but even if the next or the following president reaps the benefits, we will start such initiatives for the country’s future."

However, he indicated that discussions on pension reform will be actively pursued by the new government. Chairman Ahn said, "We are determined to carry out pension reform," explaining, "I considered creating guidelines on issues such as raising pension insurance premiums or adjusting the income replacement rate, but starting that would itself cause controversy and stakeholders might not reach a compromise," which is why discussions were paused. He added, "There are multiple layers starting from the basic pension, and I think the way forward is to proceed by concretizing these, but that would take too long," and said, "The role of the transition committee is to create a Social Grand Integration Organization and initiate discussions."

Regarding the additional supplementary budget (supplementary budget) related to COVID-19, he stated that it should include not only compensation for small business losses but also budgets for treatments and quarantine measures. In response to Small and Medium Venture Business Minister nominee Lee Young’s suggestion that the '50 trillion won loss compensation supplementary budget' might be reduced or adjusted, Ahn said, "I am not sure about the details," adding, "During the transition process, we received very accurate estimates (such as the scale of loss compensation) from the National Tax Service and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and we will execute based on that data." He continued, "Paxlovid costs 800,000 won per person, and we cannot ignore this cost," and added, "We also need to secure a budget for quarantine policies to prepare for the next pandemic. We have made our own estimates of the total amount and will announce it soon."

Regarding criticisms that he had conflicts with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol over recent cabinet appointments, Ahn stated, "I think it is right to respect the president-elect’s wishes regarding the initial cabinet formation." He explained, "I did not strongly object just because the people I recommended were not appointed," and said, "I expressed my apologies to those I recommended, and since I could not just pretend nothing happened and continue working, I did not work for about a day." He also said he will naturally continue to recommend talented individuals for the remaining appointments.

On various allegations surrounding Health and Welfare Minister nominee Jeong Ho-young, Ahn said, "I do not know the exact details," but added, "The most important thing is to clearly uncover the truth so that there are no doubts among the public, and all judgments should be made based on that."

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