[Yeouido Interview] Lee Jae-myung's 'Basic Society Roadmap' to be Released in August

Woo Won-sik, Senior Vice Chairman of the Basic Social Committee
Democratic Party's Local Government Experiment, Scholars' Research to
Create a Comprehensive Vision for Basic Society

Woo Won-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, serves as the chairman of the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee and also holds the position of senior vice chairman of the party's Basic Society Committee. He is currently preparing a Basic Society roadmap to be unveiled around the first anniversary of Lee Jae-myung’s inauguration as the Democratic Party leader this August.

In a recent interview with this publication, Rep. Woo explained, "We believe that the livelihood of the people 10 years from now should move toward a ‘Basic Society,’ and as a party focused on the people's welfare, the Democratic Party is planning to establish a long-term plan within the Basic Society Committee."

The Basic Society Committee was established within the party to develop the ‘Basic Society’ concept announced by Leader Lee at the New Year press briefing in January this year. To symbolize the party’s commitment to responsibly advancing the Basic Society, Lee was appointed as the committee chairman, while Rep. Woo serves as the senior vice chairman, effectively leading the committee.

Introducing the background of the committee’s launch, he said, "We need to envision how the future will change and design systems accordingly, and we see the Basic Society as the foundation for such future planning." He added, "It was created from the idea of how to improve people’s lives amid major changes such as economic crises, technological advancements, and climate crises."

Rep. Woo stated, "Discussions on concepts like the Basic Society and windfall tax are now becoming global trends," and added, "It is time for the state to deeply consider constitutional rights that allow people to live happily, going beyond political and economic democracy."

Woo Won-sik, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The opposition Democratic Party has set a direction to build the foundation of the Basic Society through various experiments with local governments and discussions with scholars. Rep. Woo introduced, "(Although the Democratic Party) does not hold executive power due to not being in government, there are local governments," and explained, "In places like Sinan, Jeollanam-do, renewable energy is being expanded on each island, and the profits generated are used as a rural basic income fund to return benefits to residents."

He continued, "There will be various types of aspirations within the Basic Society, and by experimenting with these in local governments, we aim to establish the philosophy and lay the foundation for the Basic Society," adding, "On one hand, we plan to conduct research and discussions with scholars, and on the other, work with local governments to produce results and create models."

Ahead of the Basic Society Committee’s launch, Rep. Woo sent a friendly letter encouraging Democratic Party members to participate alongside Leader Lee. Regarding criticism that this was a form of ‘line-up’ or favoritism, he expressed his frustration. Rep. Woo said, "(Some) say it’s a line-up, but that’s nonsense," and explained, "When a committee is formed within the party, it is routine to explain its purpose to members and inform those who want to participate." He added, "If the committee chairman, who is Leader Lee, had selected only favored people without informing others, it would have been criticized as such, but this was a normal procedure," rebutting the excessive criticism.

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