Jung Sye-kyun Declares Presidential Candidacy: "I Will Become an Economic President Fighting Inequality"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun officially declared his presidential candidacy on the 17th, becoming the first among the ruling party's big three candidates (Lee Nak-yeon, Lee Jae-myung, Chung Sye-kyun) to do so. On the afternoon of the same day, former Prime Minister Chung announced his candidacy at Seoul Nurikum Square under the slogan "Strong Republic of Korea Economic President." He stated, "I will become an economic president who confronts inequality," pledging to dismantle economic inequality, social inequality, and job inequality.

The following is the full text of the candidacy declaration

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A Strong Republic of Korea, An Economic President

■ I love the Republic of Korea

If I could

ease the pain of a single life

or soothe suffering

help a bird struggling to breathe

return to its nest

my life would never be in vain...

This is a line from a poem by American poet Emily Dickinson.

If I could

comfort the hearts of the sick and weary people

and heal their wounds

If I could

eradicate all gaps in the Republic of Korea caused by unfairness and inequality

and remove despair

and plant the seeds of hope again in its place

If I could,

create a world where our youth can freely work, marry,

and raise children

a country where regional disparities are resolved and vitality breathes

where South and North Korea overcome conflict and confrontation

and build a peaceful community of exchange and cooperation

I will gladly dedicate all my life lived so far

and all the years to come.

I love the Korean people!

I love the Republic of Korea!

■ An Economic President Who Confronts Inequality

Dear fellow citizens,

Where is the Republic of Korea heading now?

What is the true spirit of the times that we need?

I firmly assert that

without dismantling the structural pillars of inequality in Korea,

there can be no recovery of daily life.

The people feel it is unfair.

The people feel it is unjust.

The people demand the breaking of inequality.

Economic inequality, social inequality,

job inequality, inequality between classes,

all pillars of inequality must be broken down.

Our people now stand at a crossroads:

to become slaves to an unequal world

or to become owners of a country where everyone prospers together.

I, Chung Sye-kyun!

will become the strong Republic of Korea’s economic president

who confronts all inequalities.

■ A President Who Cooks Rice, Not Just Serves It

The strong Republic of Korea I dream of

is a country without gaps.

A country where everyone prospers.

A Republic of Korea where the people are strong.

I, Chung Sye-kyun!

will be an economic president who leads the future economy and creates food,

a president who cooks rice.

Serving already cooked rice is important too.

But what we need more now

is the dynamism to cook new rice.

The root cause of inequality

starts and ends with the economy.

Wages and jobs without gaps,

housing stability and a comfortable life for the people

cannot be achieved without a strong economy.

Today, I promise the people

three principles of an economic president

who will build a strong Republic of Korea.

■ Beautiful Innovation of Emotion and Tears, Not Bloody Innovation

First, I will become an economic president

who charges into a completely new era of innovative economy

never dreamed of before.

The economic model of chasing advanced countries

with the slogan "Let's live well"

must now be discarded.

From semiconductors, shipbuilding, automobiles,

to K-pop and K-movies,

we are already at the center of the world.

Now, we must re-plan and organize that power

to create a "Follow Korea Boom" worldwide

where the world follows Korea.

To build a Korean economy leading the world,

innovation within our economy is essential.

Not fierce innovation of confrontation, liquidation, and conflict,

but soft and beautiful innovation of compromise, persuasion, communication, and concession.

Not innovation that grabs by the collar,

but innovation of emotion and tears.

Not greedy innovation where you have less and I have more,

but win-win innovation where you live better and I live better.

Chung Sye-kyun will lead the innovation of a strong Republic of Korea

at the center of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the foundation of coexistence.

We will focus investment on fields that can lead new innovation,

including advanced digital industries such as innovation DNA, data, networks, AI,

as well as bio, green energy, and aerospace industries.

■ I will open the era of $40,000 income.

Second, I will open the era of $40,000 income for the people.

The fruits of the people's hard work

must return to the people.

In 2017, we opened the first "era of $30,000 national income."

What held back our economy's leap forward

was the unforeseen obstacle of COVID-19.

But we have enough capacity to leap again.

Korea's exports and trade balance,

which lead the economy, are hitting record highs.

Goods are selling well and foreign currency is coming in,

so shouldn't we raise national income now?

Korea's economy ranks in the world's top 10.

But national income is not even in the top 20 yet.

While large export companies have grown significantly,

the incomes of the majority of ordinary citizens, middle class, and farmers and fishermen

have not increased.

The money earned by the people must be returned to the people.

■ A World Where Sweat Is Not Discriminated Against

To open the era of $40,000 income,

I propose a bold social grand compromise first.

Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the wage gap between regular and non-regular workers

has gradually narrowed, but

the average monthly wage gap between regular and non-regular workers

is still 1.52 million won.

Is the sweat of workers in large companies

different from the sweat of workers in small and medium enterprises?

Sweat should not be discriminated against.

For a healthy and gapless

restoration of a win-win labor market,

I propose freezing dividends for major shareholders of conglomerates

and salaries of executives and workers for three years.

The same applies to financial public enterprises.

With that capacity, how about raising delivery prices and

worker wages for subcontracted small and medium enterprises struggling in unstable conditions?

Along with this, let's introduce and expand a preferential wage system

that fairly treats non-regular workers.

To create jobs that strengthen the middle class,

let's build a jar-shaped economic structure

that actively nurtures small and medium-sized enterprises.

This is not an empty imagination.

Roosevelt's New Deal policy, social grand compromises,

and successful grand compromises in advanced Nordic European countries

overcame fierce class struggles caused by polarization

and became the driving force behind building the world's most prosperous countries today.

I, Chung Sye-kyun, will mobilize all possible methods

to significantly raise the wages and incomes of the middle class and ordinary people

and build a strong Republic of Korea for the people.

■ National Chance for Youth!

Third, a Republic of Korea with strong care.

If the people are sick, the state must treat them,

if the people are anxious, the state must provide good jobs and

a comfortable life.

Our youth

have the best skills ever.

However, due to structural inequality and gaps,

their dreams and passion are fading.

We must warm those cold hearts.

When youth become adults entering society,

through basic asset formation programs like the "Future Seed Account,"

the state must provide a proper national chance, not just talk about dirt spoon, golden spoon, or parental chance.

To overcome the job cliff,

I will temporarily introduce a national guarantee system for youth employment,

actively invest in supporting and nurturing innovative companies,

and build the foundation of an innovative youth nation

that continues the future with innovative jobs.

■ Rather than controlling real estate, I will build real estate.

Real estate is a problem.

It is the beginning of asset gaps that cause the people's sense of deprivation.

I will not control real estate,

I will build real estate.

The state has the duty to provide comfortable housing without financial worries

to citizens without homes.

I will concentrate a supply bomb of public rental housing

for youth and ordinary people.

During my term, I will supply 1 million public rental houses,

and 300,000 public sale apartments.

Among them, 150,000 will be half-price apartments,

and the remaining 150,000 will be supplied at a quarter price.

I will break down the entry barriers to home ownership

so that the 2030 generation can easily secure housing.

Chung Sye-kyun will build a strong Republic of Korea

with strong care where today is comfortable and tomorrow is exciting.

■ A Morally Verified Leader

Respected citizens,

One of the most important things to build a strong Republic of Korea

is political leadership.

The most necessary virtue for a leader is trust.

Unverified morality and unchecked potential

cannot gain the people's trust.

Politics that force on the people what even the leader cannot keep

is not fair politics.

Extreme politics and immoral politics

have made the people unhappy.

We need competent leadership with thorough morality, insight into market economy,

inclusiveness, and a future vision

that can embrace great changes.

I, Chung Sye-kyun!

was so poor that I could not attend school, but

I passed the qualification exam and sold bread at the school store,

never giving up on my dreams.

I refused to be a collaborator of the Yushin regime,

gave up the path of a legal professional,

entered the frontline of the economy on the world stage,

and created a myth from an ordinary employee to an executive.

Since starting politics,

I have never deviated from the values and beliefs of the Democratic Party.

I achieved a horizontal regime change with President Kim Dae-jung,

and opened the path of balanced national development with President Roh Moo-hyun.

As the opposition party leader, I transformed the Democratic Party

from a losing party to a winning party.

During the national crisis faced by the Moon Jae-in government,

I served as the quarantine commander leading K-quarantine

and worked hard to overcome COVID-19.

Having been entrusted by Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in,

I, Chung Sye-kyun, will build a gapless society with stable innovation and bold recovery,

a morally clean and prosperous Republic of Korea.

Starting from the June 15th North-South reconciliation and cooperation initiated by the Kim Dae-jung government,

the peace settlement efforts of the Roh Moo-hyun government continuing with the October 4th declaration,

and inheriting the spirit of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration of the Moon Jae-in government,

I will prepare for an era of peaceful coexistence, mutual prosperity,

and peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula.

■ I will lead the path to regime re-creation

Respected citizens, party members, comrades,

We can change the world.

Let us take pride in the valuable achievements we have made.

That pride will make us change.

Our people deserve to live happily enough.

I will lead the path to regime re-creation

to realize a gapless society and a strong Republic of Korea.

I will not avoid crisis and adversity,

I will face them head-on.

At the edge of a cliff, I will take one more step forward.

I will fly high on the wings of freedom and surely win.

Thank you.