Jung Sye-kyun: "Lee Jae-myung Attempts to Deceive the People with False Agitation"

(Photo from left) Former Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun, a presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Jeong Se-gyun, former Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who has advocated for nationwide disaster relief payments, saying, "The country cannot be led by false agitation."

Earlier, on the 23rd, when the National Assembly finalized the disaster relief payment criteria for overcoming COVID-19 at a level excluding the top 12% income earners and covering 88% of the population, Lee criticized this by saying, "What crime is it to have paid a lot of taxes that you have to be selectively excluded?"

In response, on the 25th, former Prime Minister Jeong wrote on his Facebook, "Lee usually talks about Eokgangbuyak (restraining the desires of the strong and embracing the lives of the weak), but saying that taxes, which should be generously paid to the weak, should be taken away and given even to the rich who are neither harmed nor struggling is a contradiction that conflicts with his usual theory."

Jeong said, "Regarding this payment decision, Lee said, 'What crime is it that the rich paid a lot of taxes to be excluded from the payment target?' Since this is a decision that the government and the National Assembly have agreed upon with difficulty, respecting it first is the attitude of a public official."

He added, "The country should not divide people into rich and poor, but at the same time, structural gaps and inequalities should not be ignored."

On the 25th, Jeong Se-gyun, former Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who has been advocating for nationwide disaster relief payments, on his Facebook, saying, "The country can never be led by false agitation." [Photo by Facebook capture]

He also said, "It is quite embarrassing to see the 'basic income' pledge, which was suppressed by saying it was not a pledge when problems were exposed, being revived as disaster relief payments."

He continued, "Lee said that if a dedicated tax for basic income is established, 80-90% of the people will receive more basic income than the taxes they pay, but what crime did the 10-20% of the people commit to have to pay taxes they did not pay before?" He then added, "This is a clear case of deception, fooling the people," and "Someone who intends to run the country is trying to deceive the people."

Finally, former Prime Minister Jeong concluded his post by saying, "Former President Roh Moo-hyun said, 'There is no better strategy than being truthful.' Let's compete honestly."