Lee Jae-myung: "Economic Stability, Recovery, and Growth Are the Most Urgent Now"

Lee Holds New Year's Press Conference at National Assembly
Considers Withdrawing 'Basic Society'... "People's Lives Have Become Harder"
Decline in Party Approval Ratings: "The Public Demands Greater Responsibility"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 23rd and stated, "Economic stability, recovery, and growth are the most urgent issues right now." Lee said, "Pragmatism beyond ideology and political camps is the driving force for overcoming the crisis and achieving growth and development." Regarding his flagship agenda, the 'Basic Society' pledge, he drew a line by saying, "At this moment, the process of creating is more important than the issue of sharing."

Lee emphasized, "We must overcome the crisis and confusion and create a new order and opportunities through change." In particular, as a measure to restore the people's economy, he said, "We need to shift from an era where the government decides everything to an era of 'private-led government support,'" adding, "The government should respect the expertise and creativity of the private sector and actively support companies struggling on the front lines of international competition."

He also said, "This year should be the inaugural year for the advancement of the capital market to resolve the K-discount," and added, "Our stock market must also have a transparent and trustworthy advanced system." Furthermore, he stated, "The national role in securing new growth engines such as the artificial intelligence (AI) robot industry, bio, new drugs, and renewable energy sectors should be emphasized, and efforts should be made to expand economic territory by pioneering emerging markets."

Regarding the recent stagnation in party approval ratings, Lee said, "We have no choice but to humbly accept the approval ratings," and added, "I believe that arrests and detentions related to the Yoon Seok-youl administration and the party's judgment are proceeding smoothly, and I think the public is demanding greater responsibility and roles from the Democratic Party. We will approach this with humility and a sense of responsibility."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

In response to criticism that there are controversies over the Democratic Police Station and KakaoTalk censorship regarding fake news rather than a unified message recently, he said, "Freedom of expression should be broadly guaranteed. However, the resources of extremist forces are precisely fake news," emphasizing, "They raised fundamental issues with the election management by the Election Commission and became the root cause of unthinkable acts such as so-called outrageous violence and martial law. This is a serious crime that must be corrected."

Regarding voices calling for reflection on the 'unipolar system,' Lee said, "It is desirable to have diverse voices," and added, "Whether this is called a unipolar system or whether the party is being stably maintained depends on one's perspective. The People Power Party is divided and internal conflicts are intensifying, but that can also be a political phenomenon and may vary depending on the viewpoint."

Lee stated, "The value of unity is very important, and political retaliation must never be done for this," but argued, "However, some are already talking about pardoning the insurrectionary forces, but it is naturally necessary to hold them accountable for clear violations of the law."

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