Lee In-young: "Seol Public Sentiment, in One Word 'People's Livelihood First'... Liberty Korea Party Must Stop 'Prosecutor Acting'"

Proposed to Opposition Parties Including the Korean Party to Convene February Extraordinary Session... Handle Over 170 Livelihood Bills Including the Financial Consumer Protection Act
Regarding Coronavirus, "Prioritize Swift Government Response... Politics Should Not Cause Confusion"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Lee In-young, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The Lunar New Year public sentiment can be summed up as 'People's Livelihood First,'" and added, "We will hold the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly to pass about 170 livelihood-related bills." He criticized the Liberty Korea Party as a "prosecutor proxy party" and requested that they cooperate with the February extraordinary session instead of trying to return to the Park Geun-hye administration.

On the morning of the 27th, Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly reporting on public sentiment during the Lunar New Year holiday, saying, "The public sentiment during the Lunar New Year was, in one word, 'livelihood first.' Everyone I met asked the National Assembly to unite and work hard to improve the lives of the people." He continued, "Since the National Assembly has been in prolonged conflict, many people said to stop fighting and get to work, and not to focus only on elections but to help the people," adding, "The Democratic Party will reflect on what needs reflection and boldly correct what needs to be fixed."

Lee said, "The hopes of our people for economic recovery were also very strong." He added, "The party and government clearly recognize the importance of private companies leading the economy," and said, "We will also emphasize the active role of the digital economy in our economy." He continued, "We will do our best to create a society where small and medium-sized self-employed business owners can engage in economic activities healthily."

Lee again requested the opposition parties, including the Liberty Korea Party, to convene the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly to pass livelihood-related bills.

He said, "Last week, we requested the opposition to open the February extraordinary session, but there has been no response yet," and added, "I hope the schedule can be finalized as soon as the Lunar New Year holiday ends." He continued, "Before the holiday, I spoke with Shim Jae-cheol, the floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, and we agreed to hold the extraordinary session in February," but said, "I suggested holding it early February, but they have some circumstances, so we will consider it a bit more and try to agree on the schedule amicably."

Regarding the expected agenda for the February extraordinary session, he said, "There are about 170 bills pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," and added, "All of them should be processed."

Cho Jung-sik, the policy committee chairman of the Democratic Party, explained, "We will speed up the passage of the Financial Consumer Protection Act to prevent the recurrence of incidents like the overseas interest-linked derivative-linked fund (DLF) and Lime fund scandals," and added, "We will also accelerate the passage of the State Property Act, Regional Commercial District Coexistence Act, Large, Medium, and Small Enterprise Coexistence Act, Franchise Business Act, Agency Act, and the Quarantine Act to respond to new infectious diseases such as the Wuhan pneumonia."

Lee emphasized that the police reform following the prosecution reform will also proceed quickly. He said, "Another Lunar New Year public sentiment was that the prosecution's work should now be entrusted to the government and focus on people's livelihood," and criticized, "It is anachronistic and abnormal politics for the political circles to intervene in every detail of what happens inside the prosecution and cause controversy."

He added, "I hope the opposition will no longer play the role of a 'prosecutor proxy' party," and emphasized, "Since the Liberty Korea Party was concerned about the excessive power of the police during the prosecution reform process, it is logically appropriate to neutralize the police reform."

Regarding the general election, which is about 70 days away, he said, "I hope it will be a fierce policy competition and a contest of competent problem-solving abilities for people's livelihood," and added, "I hope the Liberty Korea Party will compete with future-oriented livelihood pledges rather than destructive 'veto pledges' that oppose everything and try to return to the Park Geun-hye administration."

Lee said, "There were also many requests regarding youth in the Lunar New Year public sentiment," and added, "The party plans to announce this issue as an election pledge."

In response to a question about the opinion that "former Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-gyeom should be excluded from the nomination," he replied, "We will collect all opinions, and the final decision will be made to meet the public's expectations."

Regarding the novel coronavirus, he said, "The health authorities are preparing various procedures and processes," and added, "It is important for the government to quickly establish and implement countermeasures, but if we try to receive reports, the public may think it is undesirable." When asked about forming a Democratic Party-level task force (TF), he said, "It is important not to cause confusion in the health authorities' response," and added, "If necessary, we will consider forming a TF after observing the situation."

However, he said, "In the case of the previous SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the global economic loss reached 40 billion dollars," and added, "The party and government will protect the lives of our people while checking the impact on the economy such as tourism, and if the risk expands, we will implement bold economic policies."

Policy Committee Chairman Cho also emphasized, "First, politics and the National Assembly must support the government to respond quickly," and said, "Since rapid response is crucial for infectious disease transmission, it should not become a subject of opposition party political strife or government criticism."