"Mr. President, Will the National Consolation Money Be Given as Personal Property?"... Yoon Hee-sook Criticizes 'Populism and Vote-Buying'

President Moon Jae-in answering reporters' questions at the New Year's press conference.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Nana] President Moon Jae-in mentioned that once the country overcomes COVID-19, he could consider a 'nationwide consolation payment,' but Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, strongly criticized it as 'populism' and 'vote-buying.'

On the 20th, Representative Yoon posted on social media (SNS) a message titled "Thank you, Mr. President, for the nationwide consolation payment. Will you be giving it from your personal assets?" and expressed these views.

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, strongly criticized President Moon Jae-in's mention of the 'Nationwide Consolation Support Fund' as 'populism' and 'vote-buying.' Photo by Yoon Hee-sook, member of the People Power Party, Facebook capture

Representative Yoon said, "This government seems to think the power temporarily entrusted by the people belongs to them," and criticized, "Are they planning to distribute the money collected from the people’s taxes as consolation payments to everyone nationwide? The taxes are the hard-earned money that people saved from food, clothing, and investments."

She added, "Seeing the Blue House suddenly promise to 'distribute money to make the people feel good' during election season, they must think they hold absolute power," and said, "Doing whatever they please like this is something only a Joseon Dynasty king could do with the royal treasury."

She continued, "In a democratic country, what else can you call distributing huge resources to make people feel good other than populism? Is there any other name besides vote-buying?"

She especially stated, "If calling it vote-buying is a misunderstanding, then the president and his aides should gather their personal funds and give consolation payments to the people," adding, "Whether it’s 10 won or 100 won, I would gratefully accept that sincerity."

Earlier, on the 19th, President Moon invited Lee Nak-yeon, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and other party leaders to the Blue House for lunch, where he said, "When the situation improves and we overcome COVID-19, we can consider 'nationwide consolation payments' and 'stimulus support payments.'"

Regarding this, Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok explained, "When Representative Lee and others mentioned stimulus support payments to boost the economy, President Moon referred to support payments aimed at encouraging the entire nation to cheer up and simultaneously stimulate consumption."