Lee Jae-myung: "Economic Crisis Truly on the Brink"... Opposition: "Yoon Government Doesn't Know What to Do About Current Economic Crisis"

Launch of the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Livelihood and Economic Crisis Measures

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering a keynote speech at the launch ceremony and press conference of the Livelihood Economy Crisis Countermeasures Committee held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-i] The Democratic Party of Korea announced its intention to reverse the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's tax cut policies and promote economic policies that enable the transition to a decarbonized society through the renewable energy industry.

On the 13th, the Democratic Party held the inauguration ceremony of the 'Special Committee on Livelihood Economic Crisis Measures' at the party leader's office. The Livelihood Economic Special Committee is an expanded and reorganized body of the Economic Crisis Response Special Committee, which was launched during the emergency committee led by Woo Sang-ho. It is the first organization established under the directive of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, after his inauguration.

At the inauguration ceremony, Leader Lee said, "The current economic crisis seems to be at a critical and imminent stage," adding, "Regarding the urgent issue of the plummeting rice prices, we need to swiftly implement large-scale market isolation measures as stipulated by law. There are also issues of price stabilization to control soaring inflation, and various measures to respond to exchange rate problems. We should actively consider currency swap agreements with major countries, and especially, we need to promptly strengthen protection and support systems for vulnerable groups."

He mentioned the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's tax cut policies such as corporate tax audits and raising the exemption threshold for capital gains tax on stock transfers, stating, "Along with these ultra-rich tax cuts, the government is drastically cutting budgets for local currency, senior and youth job programs, and permanent rental housing budgets. This is an incomprehensible situation that goes against the very basic political principle of strengthening the weak and restraining the strong." He added, "The Democratic Party will firmly respond to these issues going forward."

Furthermore, he said, "While the whole world is rapidly transitioning to a decarbonized society through the renewable energy industry, our economic and industrial policies are moving in the opposite direction," and added, "I hope we can create a policy shift that enables a major transformation of our economic and industrial structure into a future industry centered on renewable energy, and realize this through consultation with the government."

Kim Tae-nyeon, who will serve as the chairman of the Livelihood Economic Crisis Measures Special Committee following the Economic Crisis Response Special Committee, said, "A super-large complex crisis is upon us," and criticized, "The problem is not the end but the beginning of the complex crisis, and through the previous special committee activities, it is clear that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration does not know what the government should do in a complex disaster situation."

Special Committee member Lee Yong-woo pointed out, "We need to expand safety nets for those most affected by high inflation and high interest rates, and to do so, taxes need to be increased. At times like this, there should be questions raised about whether tax cut policies are appropriate timing-wise." Regarding the government budget, he said, "We should not simply set it as tax cuts or tax increases, but look at what tasks are given to us now and what we need to achieve, and ask questions accordingly," adding, "Currently, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is stuck in old tax cut policies and outdated perspectives."

Regarding the limitation of being the opposition party rather than the ruling party responsible for national governance, he said they would persuade through the authority of the parliamentary majority. Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the Democratic Party Policy Committee, said, "There are clear limitations because we are not the ruling party," but added, "As the majority party, we have means to exercise influence over the legislature, and since government policies are reflected through the budget, we believe we can block ultra-rich tax cut policies through legislation and sufficiently reflect livelihood economic-related projects." Chairman Kim said, "There are two things going against the global trend: most countries are implementing policies through tax increases, but our country is going in the opposite direction; while increasing renewable energy, we are increasing nuclear power and reducing renewable energy." He concluded, "We will persuade the government and push for legislative policies in this regular session of the National Assembly to ensure we move in the right direction."

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