Yoon Seok-yeol: "Welfare should focus on supporting the underprivileged... If taxes are just collected to be redistributed, it's best not to collect them at all."
Lee Jae-myung: "It's like saying, 'Why eat if you need to go to the bathroom?'"
"South Korea aims to be a welfare state... I hope today's leaders reconsider their roles."
Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's post on his social networking service (SNS). Photo by Lee, captured from his Facebook page.
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said on the 16th, "It is very regrettable and worrisome that Yoon Seok-yeol, the former Prosecutor General who is mentioned as a leading presidential candidate of the opposition, has such a national perspective."
On the same day (16th), Governor Lee posted on his social media (SNS), "It is because the person who is trying to become a national leader does not recognize the responsibilities of the state at all," and criticized, "It is like the logic of saying 'I need to go to the bathroom, so why eat?'"
Earlier, in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo released on the 15th, former Prosecutor General Yoon said regarding the issue of disaster relief payments, "Welfare is about focusing support on the vulnerable groups," and added, "If you are going to collect taxes and distribute them to (all citizens), it would be best not to collect taxes in the first place." He further emphasized, "It is right to clearly define the policy goals and then specify the recipients for focused support," and "Cash welfare should be targeted and focused rather than universal."
On the other hand, on the same day, Governor Lee appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and rebutted, saying, "Is there any financial difference between giving 200,000 won to all citizens or giving 250,000 won to 80% of the citizens?" He argued, "For truly necessary livelihood matters, the National Assembly should boldly push them through."
Governor Lee also emphasized, "The whole world has created the counterbalance of 'taxes' and 'welfare' to resolve serious wealth disparities, which are problems of the current economic system," and said, "Through taxes and welfare, communities maintain a sustainable economic system. The function of the state is to alleviate polarization and prevent inequality through secondary redistribution."
He added, "Without the counterbalance of taxes and welfare, the rich become richer and the poor remain poor," and said, "We experienced this fact during the nine years of the 'Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye' administrations, which blindly believed in neoliberalism."
Governor Lee said, "I want to ask if this is the substance of fairness that I emphasized when I declared my candidacy recently," and added, "The Republic of Korea is not a night watchman state but aims to be a welfare state. I hope they first reflect on why the state exists and what leaders of our era should do."
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