Lee Jun-seok "Lee Jae-myung's statement on owning shares in the Korean version of Nvidia, a dangerous economic view"

Lee Jaemyung: "If Citizens Hold 30% of Shares, No Need to Rely on Taxes"
Lee Junseok: "Idea of Using Growth Companies as National Tax Source Is Nonsense"

Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker from the Reform New Party, criticized Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 4th, saying, "The more a person makes excessive populist pledges, the more likely they are to come up with outlandish answers when smart citizens ask, 'How will you secure the funding?'"

On the same day, Lee held a press conference on current issues at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, and criticized Lee Jae-myung's recent remark that "if we nurture companies like Nvidia and the public holds about 30% of the shares, we would not have to rely on taxes."

Earlier, on the 2nd, Lee Jae-myung mentioned in a dialogue video posted on the Democratic Research Institute’s Collective Intelligence Center, "If a company like Nvidia emerges in Korea, with 70% of the shares held by the private sector and 30% shared among all citizens, wouldn't a society come where we don't have to rely on taxes?"

Lee Jun-seok said, "(Lee Jae-myung) added the sweet talk that 'we don't have to pay taxes.' This is a clear contradiction," and questioned, "Is he saying we shouldn't pay corporate tax, or that we should pay corporate tax and also distribute dividends?" He then pointed out, "At this level, it is not just a strange economic view but a dangerous one."

Lee also questioned, "Even the National Pension Service is extremely cautious about holding more than 10% of shares when investing in domestic stocks while managing pension funds. Where does the idea come from that the state should hold 30% of a company's shares and share the profits with the people?"

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He added, "The annual dividend yield of Nvidia, which Lee Jae-myung used as an example, is only 0.033%," and criticized, "The idea of using a growth-focused company that is not dividend-friendly as a source to replace national taxes is nonsense."

He further said, "In the past, Lee Jae-myung drew criticism from Jeju Island residents by saying, 'Since airplanes will take off and land vertically in the future, let's abolish Gimpo Airport,' and stirred the financial market with his 'cornucopian economics' claiming, 'Our country will become a key currency nation, so we can issue government bonds recklessly.' Now, another version of ‘nonsense economics’ has appeared."

Lee stated, "Not only is he turning left while signaling a right turn, but now he seems to want to pay for gas at the gas station with a bounced check," and asserted, "Korean companies are not Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong, and the Korean government is not Hwacheon Daeyu or Cheonhwa-dong-in."

He said, "The president, obsessed with the blue whale, suddenly declared martial law while talking about oil-producing countries, and the leader of the main opposition party is absorbed in a pseudo ‘AI jackpot theory,’ dreaming of nationalizing advanced industries," emphasizing, "One side is anti-intellectual, the other is ignorant. Our constitution stipulates an economic order based on private property and respects free competition in a free market economy."

Lee Jun-seok added, "Currently, our political circles are busy all year round with lawyers sending each other to jail and shielding themselves, but when it comes to important policies on the economy and science and technology, it is all ‘nonsense talk festivals.’" He concluded, "This is not a country where prosecutors and defendants stand at the center of politics. I ask the public to help ensure that normal economic and science and technology discourse can be addressed."

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