[Yoon President Inauguration] "Five years of progressive-conservative conflict felt like 50... I want to see politics of respect"

Yoon Suk-yeol Inaugurated as 20th President
Voices of the People... Calls for Stable Jobs and Housing Prices Stabilization

On the 10th, ahead of the inauguration ceremony of the 20th president, the National Participation Group is moving to the event venue near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho, Sehee Jang]"Please create a Republic of Korea where the people can live well."

This is the message from citizens to President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was inaugurated on the 10th. Park Yong-ho, a 28-year-old university student, said, "Since COVID-19, unstable jobs have increased, and the wage gap between occupations has widened," adding, "I hope the environment will become one where anyone can have a quality job." Park also said, "Many young people cannot even dream of buying a house," and "It would be good to implement policies to stabilize housing prices." Hwang Young-sang, a 34-year-old office worker, said, "I am raising three children, but national support and welfare are severely lacking," and "If the benefits for families with multiple children are expanded, the economic burden would be lighter." Oh Eun-ah, a 28-year-old office worker, said, "Many of my friends around me are still unemployed," and "I hope the number of quality jobs increases significantly." However, concerns were also expressed about President Yoon’s pledge to flexibly apply the 52-hour workweek. She said, "As someone who works overtime until 3 or 4 a.m., I hope the 52-hour workweek is strictly observed," but added, "Since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration plans to relax the 52-hour system, I am somewhat worried."

Many citizens also emphasized national unity. Given the confirmed divisions during the presidential election process, they requested that public sentiment be soothed and shifted toward a unifying atmosphere. Jeong Da-woon, a 36-year-old housewife, said, "I hope a society where people help each other beyond progressive and conservative lines is created," adding, "It is true that there are concerns about ‘looking after one’s own’ since President Yoon is from the prosecution, but I hope these worries will be erased over the next five years." Kim Ok-soon, 70, said, "It was hard to see the clear division and fighting between progressives and conservatives," and "Five years felt like fifty." She expressed fatigue over the amplified extreme polarization. Kim said, "I want to see a society and politics where people respect and help each other," and "I firmly believe President Yoon Suk-yeol will make this happen."

Small business owners and self-employed individuals are hoping for President Yoon’s first pledge, ‘full compensation for losses.’ During the presidential campaign, President Yoon promised to provide a lump sum of 6 million won as compensation for losses to small business owners. Oh Se-hee, chairman of the Small Business Federation, said, "Small business owners contributed to quarantine efforts by complying with vaccine passes, etc.," and insisted, "The 6 million won quarantine support fund should be paid as a lump sum, not on a differential basis." He also stated, "The dominance of online platform companies during COVID-19 has affected neighborhood markets," and "The Online Platform Fairness Act should be enacted to correct excessive commission and advertising fee structures."

On the same day, the Small Business Federation issued a statement saying, "As President Yoon’s first pledge, we proposed comprehensive policies including support funds for overcoming the crisis and restoring daily life, full compensation for losses, retroactive application measures, and integrated financial restructuring," and "We hope these pledges will be faithfully kept." They also said, "We expect that policy tasks presented at the presidential policy agreement ceremony, such as amendments to the Loss Compensation Act, enactment of the Online Platform Fairness Act, and amendments to the Minimum Wage Act, will be prioritized and realized." There was also a self-employed person requesting policies to ease labor shortages. Mr. Lee (47), who runs a restaurant in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, said, "Even if the hourly wage is raised to 13,000 won, there is no one willing to work," and "I hope policies will be created to connect people who actually want to work to the market rather than compensating labor income through finances."

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