Lee Jae-myung: "We Must Prevent Tax Cuts for the Rich... Will Restore Reduced Support Budgets for the Underprivileged as Much as Possible"

"To Alleviate Polarization, Large Corporations Should Refrain from Tax Cuts"
"Preventing Cuts to Support Budgets for Ordinary People Is the Democratic Party's Duty"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, generally agreed on the opinion that the economy is worsening due to 'polarization' and said, "To alleviate polarization, it is desirable to support the common people and refrain from tax cuts for large corporations."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Lee made these remarks during a luncheon meeting with traditional market merchants held at Hana Bunsik in Yangdong Market, Gwangju, in the afternoon, referring to the government’s budget proposal for the next year submitted to the National Assembly.

Lee emphasized, "Although the Democratic Party does not have the authority to restore the budget cuts for supporting the common people during the budget review process, we aim to recover as much as possible through negotiations."

He said, "The core of the negotiations is to prevent tax cuts for mega-corporations with sales exceeding 300 billion won, so-called tax cuts for the rich, and also to prevent cuts in the budget for supporting the common people. Not only the Supreme Council members but also the party as a whole will actively strive for this," pledging his commitment.

When mentioning the government’s budget cuts on local currency, Lee described it as "shocking."

Lee explained, "(Local currency) really helps small business owners and self-employed people in neighborhood commercial districts. I first started it in Seongnam City, and it has spread nationwide. Users receive income support through discounts and incentives, and from the perspective of small business owners, customers who would have gone to online transactions or large shopping malls come here, increasing sales."

He added, "The so-called consumption increase effect and economic revitalization effect have all been proven to be significant. I really cannot understand why the entire amount is cut, making it impossible for local governments to implement it."

Lee questioned, "Isn't this ultimately to increase the sales of large distribution corporations? As the sales of neighborhood commercial districts decrease, the sales of large corporations increase, right?" He also pointed out, "Local currency has no fees, but cards have fees. This year, card fees amount to about 200 to 300 billion won out of 30 trillion won, which somehow benefits large corporations."

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