Is Lee Jae-myung an 無派 pragmatist… Korean version of Chavez or politician inquiry

Jaemyung Lee, Gyeonggi Governor / Photo = Yonhap News

Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myeong (pictured) is pouring out an economic agenda ahead of the 2022 presidential election. As a passport sleep dragon, he is expanding his stride beyond Gyeonggi-do to’Yeouido’, and is actually making a line of presidential election pledges.

Governor Lee said, “High-quality public rental housing will change the paradigm of existing housing policies” at the’Gyeonggi-do Basic Housing Debate’ held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul on the 26th. “If a house for speculation purposes is taken so intensely that unearned income is impossible, real estate We can solve the problem.”

In addition to basic housing, the Governor uses’Basic Series’ such as basic income basic loans as its trademark policy. In addition, his agenda covers the entire economy, including finance and labor tax, real estate, from the national disaster subsidies, land ownership tax, permanent government bonds with a ‘0% interest rate’, and fair allowance for irregular workers. All of them are unconventional and radical, so they are controversial every time they are released.

Concerns and expectations are clearly diverging from public opinion in the economic policy of Jae Myung-pyo Lee. More than any other presidential election runners, there are many reactions of “ciida” to the presentation of clear policies, but the criticism of “unrealistic populism” (popular ensembleism) is not easy.

The economic community and government officials are all concerned. This is because Governor Lee’s economic policies are mostly anti-market and have not been proven academically or practically. Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and Minister of Strategy and Finance criticized the Governor in an open seat at the National Assembly, saying, “I make a statement without responsibility.”

The Governor’s economic agenda has been working successfully so far. It ranks first in passports in various opinion polls. There is also a prospect that if Governor Lee’s economic policy goes into full-scale verification, it will act as a factor in lowering the approval rating. Park Seong-min, CEO of’Min’, a political consulting firm, predicted that “how realistically the people accept Lee’s radical economic policy will determine the direction of the approval rating.”

“I am onion or radish”… Pragmatism, but criticism of’Korean version of Chavez’
Democratic Party’President Sleep Dragon’… Lee Jae-myeong pours out a radical agenda

“I am the Yang (兩) or No (No) group.”

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung quickly answers the question about his political orientation. He explains that he is not a leftist or a rightist, neither conservative nor progressive. Rather, it argues that it is closer to conservative than progressive. “I believe that any field can be improved within the current constitution or the borders of the law” (interviewed on December 12, 2016 by the Korea Economic Daily). Even among experts, there is an analysis that “a person who moves from side to side in ideology” (Shinyul, Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Myongji University).

The direction of Governor Lee’s economic policy can be broadly summarized as △Expansion of welfare through large-scale financial expansion, △the government’s active market intervention and strong exercise of public power △Reform chaebol. In the detailed policy implementation process, pragmatism can be seen, but there are many analyzes that the progressive and leftists, especially the radical tendencies, are the big ideological aspects. Some point out that “the Korean version of Chavez (former Venezuela President)” (political critic Hwang Tae-soon) is addicted to public transfer income (money given by the government and public institutions). This is the reason why it is questioned whether the governor will be able to establish itself as a presidential candidate for a passport that embraces the middle and conservative.

Lee Jae-myung’s’Basic Series’

The governor is pushing the’basic series’ as its main policy, such as basic income basic housing basic loan. It provides basic income, housing, and loans to all citizens. Governor Lee announced on the 26th at the’Gyeonggi-do Basic Housing Debate’ held at the Yeouido Glad Hotel in Seoul on the 26th, “We plan to supply public rental housing that satisfies the middle class to the metropolitan area of ​​Gyeonggi-do.” Basic housing refers to a long-term rental housing for 30 years or more that anyone without a home can occupy without limiting their income, assets, and age, like conventional public rental.

The basic loan is a policy that limits the legal maximum interest rate of lenders to 10% per year, and the government pays for some unpaid losses (up to 10%) so that anyone can receive long-term loans at low interest rates. As for basic income, the governor claims to pay 500,000 won per person per year in the short term and 2 million to 6 million won per year in the long term. In addition, it is proposing to promptly pay the national disaster basic income (disaster support fund) in response to the re-proliferation of Corona 19.

All of them are policies that reflect his theory of emphasizing universal welfare. Governor Lee insisted in his book “Jae-myeong Lee, Revolutionize the Republic of Korea” that “we must create a community where everyone can live well together with universal welfare beyond selective welfare.”

The problem is finance. In the case of basic housing, construction bonds issued by the’Long-Term Rental Housing Purchase Corporation’ invested and established by the government are used as a source of finance. Dae-jung Kwon, professor of the Department of Real Estate at Myongji University, pointed out that “regardless of the method of issuing public bonds, if a problem arises, it is a burden on the people.”

The governor goes further and is ordering a large-scale expansion of finances, arguing that it is okay to give 100 more of the disaster subsidy for 300,000 won each. As for financing, the issuance of government bonds is also the primary choice. The government issues 54 trillion won worth of permanent government bonds with an interest rate of 0% to allow the Bank of Korea to take over and pay 1 million won per person with the money. Experts are concerned about disruption in the financial and foreign exchange markets. Man-Woo Lee, an emeritus professor at the Department of Business Administration at Korea University, pointed out that “because permanent government bonds are also a national debt, the foreign exchange crisis will struck as the national credit rating falls.”

Market normalization or invasion

The Governor emphasizes the state’s active market intervention and strong exercise of public power. In dealing with the’Shincheonji Incident’, the payment of local currency in Gyeonggi Province, and the launch of a public delivery app, it raised the approval rating by advocating’strong wiretapping’. His opinion is that “the role of the government is to normalize the fair competition order in which the invisible hand works is destroyed.” One of the most respected figures is former US President Franklin Roosevelt, saying, “We overcame the economic crisis with drastic measures such as emergency financial expenditures during the Great Depression.”

In April of last year, the chairman of Roh Moo Hyun-dan, chairman of Roh Moo Hyun-dan, who devalued the governor during the 19th presidential election, said on his YouTube broadcast last April, “The people of Baedal also knelt right away because Gyeonggi-do said it would make an app.” He said,’You have to do that to do something.’

The criticism is also difficult. Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the National Assembly Party, pointed out that in April last year, when Gyeonggi-do decided to release a public app in response to the promotion of higher fees from the people of delivery, it was “invading the realm of the market, and it was a popular feast.” The Korea Institute for Taxation and Finance said in September last year that “local currency causes various losses and costs, which counteracts the economic effect.”

“Corporate nationalization”… Socialist controversy

Governor Lee is advocating the reform of the chaebol more strongly than any other passport politician. In his book, Jae-Myung Lee, he argued that “businessmen and politicians who have been accumulating wealth since the Japanese colonial era have been united by Syngman Rhee’s regime and begin to take root of’political relations’.” He emphasized that “we need to change the abnormal governance structure of chaebol companies first.” As a specific method, it is suggested that the public sector purchases shares of large corporations with the tax revenue by reliably imposing inheritance tax, uses the shares of large corporations held by the pension fund, and uses state-run banks such as Korea Development Bank as a kind of sovereign wealth fund. did. Joon-sun Choi, an emeritus professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, criticized it as “a socialist idea to nationalize companies.”

Lee Han-sang, a professor of business administration at Korea University, said, “Who can’t read the people’s desire to overcome the frustrating reality that conservative, incremental, and realistic approaches cannot solve?” There is a fear of causing many side effects that are not there.”

Reporter Dowon Lim [email protected]