Lee Jae-myung: "If There Had Been No Corruption in MB and Park Administrations, We Would Have Given 10 Million Won Per Person"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, strongly refuted former lawmaker Lee Jae-oh's recent claim that the country is on the brink of collapse due to disorganized disaster relief support, stating that if the MB (Lee Myung-bak) administration and Park Geun-hye administration had not engaged in corruption, budget waste, and tax cuts favoring the wealthy over the past 10 years, there would still be 10 million KRW (510 trillion KRW) per citizen left to give.

On the 31st, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "What ruined the country is not disaster relief but corruption," saying, "Lawmaker Lee Jae-oh, you say the country is going bankrupt because of disorganized disaster relief? Even if your mouth is crooked, you should speak straight," and pointed out, "The granary is empty not because of relief rice but because of (corrupt) thieves."

He added, "It is the constitutional duty of the state and the right of the people to save taxpayers' money as much as possible and improve public welfare," and argued, "Has the Nordic region, which is a fair country without corruption and uses taxes properly for public welfare, collapsed? Venezuela did not collapse because of public welfare but because of corruption and incompetence."

Furthermore, Lee said, "Since we are only familiar with corruption that wastes astronomical budgets on the Four Major Rivers Project and embezzles national finances under the pretext of resource diplomacy and defense strengthening, it is understandable that when we see desperate efforts to save taxes, increase public welfare, and stimulate consumption, some say 'disaster relief is bankrupting the country,'" adding, "While we have seen people spend by borrowing national debt, this is the first time we have seen efforts to save taxes and increase public welfare, so I understand."

However, Lee asked, "Please do not belittle Gyeonggi Province's desperate efforts to overcome the disaster," and introduced, "Gyeonggi Province is gathering all available funds to provide 115,000 KRW per person, totaling 1.5 trillion KRW, as regional currency that expires within three months without discrimination."

He especially warned, "Gyeonggi Province has no authority to raise taxes or freely issue local bonds and is solely responsible for saving the allocated taxes, so please stop saying that the Gyeonggi Province disaster basic income adds additional burdens to residents."

Lee concluded, "Since the United Future Party keeps targeting me, I will say just one more thing: if the MB administration and Park Geun-hye administration had not engaged in corruption, budget waste, and tax cuts favoring the wealthy over the past 10 years, there would still be 10 million KRW (510 trillion KRW) per citizen left to give."