Choi Jae-hyung, Lee Jae-myung's Basic Income Criticized Again: "Basic Income as Growth Policy? Nothing but Nonsense"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Choi Jae-hyung, a presidential candidate from the opposition, criticized the ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province, on the basic income pledge on the 1st, saying, “The claim that basic income is a growth policy is nothing but sophistry.” This was aimed at Lee’s recent interview with a Gwangju local media where he said, “Basic income is a growth policy.”

On the same day, Choi posted on his Facebook, “I absolutely cannot agree with Lee’s idea of presenting a policy that does not really help growth and a pseudo-distribution policy whose effectiveness is also questionable as a growth policy.”

He criticized, “As criticism of the distribution policy, which is questionable in terms of realism and effectiveness, continued, it was packaged as a growth policy. It is a kind of window dressing, that is, ‘policy makeup.’ This is deceiving the people.”

He added, “The basic income that Lee advocates is not a growth policy but a distribution policy. It is a kind of modified Soju-seong (income-led growth) policy,” and pointed out, “We need to break away from the myth that consumption will promote growth.”

Choi said, “Not long ago, Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, reflected on the Moon Jae-in administration’s Soju-seong policy. It means they admitted failure themselves,” and questioned, “Then, are they calling the basic income policy, which has the same principle as Soju-seong, a growth policy? Are they going to inherit the failed Soju-seong?”

He continued, “Kim Byung-joon, who oversaw policies at the Blue House during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, said in his book There Is No President for 99 Percent, ‘Growth is difficult without welfare. No one can deny this point. But there is another clear fact. Growth cannot be achieved by welfare alone,’” and emphasized, “I fully agree. Growth and distribution must create a relationship where growth promotes distribution and distribution promotes growth.”

Choi continues to openly criticize Lee’s basic income. While defining basic income as a ‘national dining-out allowance,’ he also criticized Lee’s proposed funding plan for basic income, the ‘introduction of a land ownership tax,’ saying, “I suspect whether it is an attempt to imitate Robin Hood by recklessly stealing the people’s property.”