Yoon Talks with the Public for 160 Minutes... From Livelihood and Reform to Villas and Drugs (Comprehensive)

- Live Broadcast of 'National Task Inspection Meeting' at Yeongbingwan... Extended from '100 minutes' to 1 hour with Spontaneous Q&A with the Public
- Yoon Reveals Direction for '3 Major Reforms in Labor, Education, and Pension'... "We Must Start Now to Achieve the Final Version"
- Detailed Responses from Villa King to Drugs... Criticizing the Complete Prosecution Reform as a "Shameful Matter"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Baek Kyunghwan and Lee Gimin] President Yoon Suk-yeol's first dialogue with the public lasted nearly 160 minutes. The '1st National Task Progress Review Meeting' held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Blue House State Guest House was originally planned for '100 minutes,' but the conversation between President Yoon and the citizens extended well beyond the scheduled time. President Yoon personally answered most of the questions posed by the citizen panelists recommended by various ministries. Fourteen panelists from diverse backgrounds, including housewives, self-employed individuals, university students, social workers, and professors, asked questions to President Yoon and the ministers.

The meeting was divided into three themes: 'Economy and Livelihood,' 'Vision and Strategy for the Local Era,' and 'Three Major Reform Tasks' (Pension, Labor, Education). It served as an opportunity to inform the public about the progress of the 120 national tasks announced by President Yoon during the transition committee period. President Yoon instructed the ministers, "Report matters that require public understanding as they are." A senior official from the presidential office explained, "This is a time for the public to directly check how the key national tasks promoted by each ministry are progressing and what changes the public will experience. Strengthening communication by seeking public understanding of policy implementation will enable the private sector to respond predictably." The originally planned topic of 'future growth sectors' was excluded because it is frequently addressed in export strategy meetings and emergency economic livelihood meetings.

◆Adjustment of Taxation on Multi-Homeowners... "Will Reduce Tax Burden Passed on to Vulnerable Tenants"= In the first session on 'Livelihood and Economy,' President Yoon emphasized the 'law of the market.' He first brought up the plan to ease taxation on multi-homeowners, stating, "This is to create conditions so that tenants in vulnerable positions in the market can rent at low prices." This reflects the judgment that the heavy taxation on multi-homeowners is being passed on to economically vulnerable tenants.

He also pointed out that housing prices rose due to the previous government's complex regulations. He emphasized the need to quickly improve demand regulations for this reason. President Yoon said, "Until I took office, housing prices soared uncontrollably due to unreasonable complex regulations on both supply and demand sides, and transaction volumes shrank. Even if these are phenomena caused by wrong policies, removing them all at once could cause market confusion and inconvenience the public, so the pace of market normalization must be adjusted. However, since housing prices are currently declining due to high interest rates, we will make our best efforts to stabilize the market by easing demand regulations at a somewhat faster pace."

He also made it clear that real estate issues should not be resolved through political logic. President Yoon said, "The rise and fall of housing prices should fundamentally follow market logic, but the government should manage the pace carefully to make it predictable. Real estate issues should not be trapped in political logic or ideology."

Responding to a citizen panelist's concern that tenants might not get their deposits back due to falling housing and jeonse prices, President Yoon expressed sympathy and explained that he requested the formation of a 'Tenant Joint Legal Support Task Force (TF)' related to the so-called 'Villa King' death case.

Regarding the reform of the National Health Insurance, he emphasized 'protecting good insurance subscribers.' President Yoon explained, "The health insurance system is operated so that when I or my family suffer from severe illnesses that require significant expenses, we can receive proper treatment and recover health without worrying about the cost. We intend to normalize it according to its original purpose." He added, "There are cases of so-called 'medical shopping,' where some people visit hospitals thousands of times a year or use expensive MRI scans without limits. We need to properly review and evaluate these cases so that insurance subscribers can fairly receive support for severe illnesses and essential medical care."

On drug crimes, he said, "About ten years ago, our country was called a drug-free nation. But at some point, the prosecution stopped handling these cases, leaving the police to bear all the burden, which reduced efficiency in information sharing and investigative cooperation." This was an indirect criticism of the 'Prosecution Investigation Authority Reform' (검수완박) that weakened the prosecution's role in drug crime investigations. He also mentioned, "The fact that drug prices are falling means the state is not cracking down. Frankly, it's somewhat embarrassing."

◆"Education is Key to Balanced Regional Development... Proposal for Running Mate System between Metropolitan Governors and Education Superintendents"= In the second session, 'Vision and Strategy for the Local Era,' President Yoon identified 'education issues' as the core. He said, "Companies follow people, and people follow residential environments, among which schools are the most important."

President Yoon cited an example from his transition committee days when he met with six economic leaders to discuss regional development. He said, "At that time, a metropolitan governor offered a lot of land in his region to attract companies to build factories and invest. But the leaders said, 'Even if you give the land for free, they won't come.' When asked why, they said, 'Employees won't follow.'"

He added an example where Company A built a factory in Paju, and Company B built factories in Cheonan and Asan Tangjeong, but many key technicians from Company B transferred to Company A, emphasizing the 'correlation between regional development and education.' He further explained, "If there are good middle and high schools or local universities in the region, many good companies will come down, and a significant number of talents can stay there. I believe this is possible because living in one place offers many benefits and comparative advantages."

Regarding Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Ju-ho's announcement after taking office to transfer the Ministry of Education's authority over local universities to city and provincial governors, President Yoon said, "It's a very good idea, and I have always thought so." He also emphasized, "Through special accounts for higher education, universities and local industries can progress together." The special account for higher education allows some of the budget previously used for elementary, middle, and high schools to be used by universities, which has faced strong opposition from some education superintendents and educational organizations.

To this end, he proposed a running mate system where metropolitan governors and education superintendents run as a pair in elections, rather than being elected separately as under the current system. In his closing remarks at the review meeting, President Yoon said, "Especially for higher education, we plan to transfer authority to local governments. If metropolitan governors and education superintendents run as running mates and local residents choose them, it will greatly help the local era and balanced regional development. I would like to mention this through this meeting."

On the 15th, citizens are watching the National Task Inspection Meeting chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol in the Seoul Station waiting room. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

◆Reform Public Discussion, Full-Scale Launch... "We Will Not Avoid It"= The biggest focus of the day was the three major reform tasks (labor, pension, education). President Yoon has emphasized the need for reforms not only in labor, pension, and education but also in health insurance, and has officially launched public discussions on these reform tasks.

On this day, President Yoon stated, "Reform is an unpopular task, but we will not avoid it and must accomplish it." Regarding pension reform, he emphasized, "We will not avoid our historical responsibility and mission." He set a concrete goal to complete pension reform by the end of the current government or early next government, promising "to conduct in-depth research and public discussions." He also said, "We must start now so that the final version of pension reform, which can be sustained for decades, will be completed by the end of this government or early next government." President Yoon views pension reform as "an issue related to the sustainability of our country, enabling future generations to maintain their will to work hard and live diligently."

He also criticized the previous government's handling. President Yoon said, "In past governments, when pension reform was mentioned, it was said that it would lose votes and was not helpful to either party, so pension reform was not seriously discussed, and during the last government, it was not even brought up."

Regarding labor and education reforms, he described them as "continuously building systems," but for pension reform, he explained, "It requires long-term research and public discussion, and once decided, it must be maintained for 30 to 50 years."

He also expressed his stance on labor market restructuring. He first expressed concern about labor issues becoming political and contentious. President Yoon said, "If labor reform is not achieved and labor issues become political and contentious, both politics and the economy will fail." On labor-management stability, he said, "If disputes occur every day, both sides suffer significant losses. To maintain stable labor-management relations, the rule of law must be established." He added, "If one tries to achieve their goals by violating the law, it may be temporarily advantageous, but ultimately it damages labor-management stability and harms both sides."

Regarding education reform, he said, "It is not a choice but a necessity for a sustainable Korea to enable future generations to have international competitiveness." On this day, President Yoon explained education reforms, including the need to strengthen local secondary education and the plan to transfer support for universities to local governments, emphasizing that education is the core for the local era.

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