[Comparison of Lee and Yoon's Pledges] Lee's Basic Income and Tailored Policies for Young Men vs. Yoon's Asset Building and Comprehensive Fair Admissions Reform

Presidential Candidates Dissect Youth and Gender Pledges

Lee Emphasizes Basic Income and Government Role

Youth Basic Income of 2 Million Won

Youth Priority Allocation in Basic Housing

Volunteer Military System and Virtual Asset Tax Deferral

Promises Targeting Youth Votes

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, aims to address various issues faced by young people within his major pledge, the ‘Basic Series.’ His economic pledges are grounded in the theory of a ‘big government.’ Specifically, this is reflected in policies targeting the so-called ‘I-dae-nam (men in their 20s),’ a demographic with weak Democratic Party support, such as the volunteer military system and deferral of virtual asset taxation.

Most of Lee’s youth pledges are derived from the Basic Series, including basic income and basic housing. Representative examples include providing youth basic income and prioritizing youth in basic housing supply. The youth basic income plan involves giving 2 million won annually in local currency to youth aged 19 to 29 during his term. On the 29th, during a tour of Honam, Lee questioned in a dialogue with students at Chosun University, “Is it wasteful for the state to provide support in the form of basic income so that youth can realize themselves and buy books?” thereby advocating the necessity of basic income. He also promised to prioritize youth allocation in basic housing, which aims to supply 1 million units during his term.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Under the judgment that the current problem for youth is a lack of quality jobs, there is also a plan to significantly increase national investment, such as through ‘fund formation,’ to create jobs. On the 24th, Lee visited the Korea Federation of SMEs and announced plans to ▲ greatly expand venture investment and establish large-scale funds ▲ achieve 300,000 technology innovation-type startups annually ▲ create mega tech funds to nurture decacorn companies (companies valued over 10 trillion won).

In education, he advocated expanding support for student loan interest and implementing a tuition system proportional to credits to ease the burden of tuition fees. However, pledges to respond to ‘fairness in college entrance exams,’ emphasized by Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, are still in preparation. Yoo Ki-hong, a lawmaker responsible for education pledges at the election campaign committee, said in a phone call on the 1st, “Preparations are almost complete,” but added, “Detailed content will be announced soon.”

One pledge targeting men in their 20s is the introduction of a ‘selective volunteer military system.’ This would provide an option to choose between specialized technical non-commissioned officers and general conscripts. On the 1st of last month, marking Armed Forces Day, Lee said, “Replacing 100,000 conscripts with technology-intensive combat non-commissioned officers and military officials will enhance professionalism,” adding, “The number of conscripts will be greatly reduced, naturally shortening the service period.” He also proposed establishing an e-sports team within the Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Sangmu) to foster the gaming industry.

Despite government opposition, the plan to defer taxation on virtual assets also appears to be part of pledges aimed at youth votes. Some criticize this as ‘populism.’ Jang Hye-young, chief spokesperson for the Justice Party’s election campaign committee, condemned it, saying, “Using tax policy as a vote-buying tool just because the election is imminent seriously undermines trust in government policy.”

Yoon’s Youth Policy Focuses on Fairness and Self-Reliance Environment

Youth Cost-Price Housing and Leap Account Introduction

Customized Education and Job Support

Expansion of Regular Admissions and Simplification of Entrance Exams

One-Strike-Out for Corruption

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, presents youth pledges following the ‘small government’ principle. His approach is selective support to ensure a ‘fair starting line.’ Yoon argues that rather than simple cash support, an environment enabling self-reliance should be provided.

The emphasis is on assisting asset formation for young adults starting their careers. Representative examples include 300,000 units of ‘youth cost-price housing’ and the ‘Youth Leap Account,’ where the state subsidizes 15-25% of contributions for 10 years after employment. For youth from ‘debt-ridden families’ inheriting debt from parents, self-reliance programs will be supported, and customized education and job support systems will be established for youth in regions lacking educational and employment opportunities.

Kim Hyun-sook, former senior secretary for employment and welfare at the Blue House who participated in designing the pledges, explained, “I wanted to resolve the anxiety and impatience of a generation that starts at a different point and may be poorer than the older generation,” adding, “Basically, the state supports, but provides thicker support for the vulnerable, including low-income groups.”

However, Yoon’s youth support measures also face the wall of feasibility. Regarding the realism of youth cost-price housing, Professor Kim Sang-bong of Hansung University’s Department of Economics pointed out, “The initial cost for the first supply is high; even assuming 300 million won per unit, 300,000 units would cost 90 trillion won, raising the question of whether the state can secure that funding,” adding, “Actual housing prices will likely be higher.” Regarding the Youth Leap Account, some question whether youth will use a savings-type account with about 10 million won annually when alternative investment options like stocks or virtual assets exist.

Education pledges are designed as fairness-customized policies considering the ‘unfairness controversy’ among the 2030 generation. The goal is to reduce unfairness throughout the entire process from entrance exams to employment and retirement. For example, at the entrance exam stage, they propose expanding the proportion of regular admissions and simplifying the exam system to reduce private education reliance. Alongside this, they plan to secure fairness by implementing an ‘entrance exam corruption secret inspector system’ and a ‘one-strike-out system’ upon confirmation of corruption.

There are also notable pledges to encourage political participation among youth. These include lowering the eligibility age for candidacy to 18 and placing ‘youth aides’ in all government ministries. When launching the youth committee on the 28th, Yoon emphasized direct political participation of youth, saying, “My firm belief in youth policy is not just to create good policies for youth, but for the state to govern together with youth.”

Lee Releases Detailed Women’s Pledges but Recently Focuses on ‘I-dae-nam’ Votes
Experts Warn “May Lose Traditional Female Support Base”

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, visited 'N15,' a corporate maker space located in Seoul Square, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 30th, and is talking with company representatives. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

① Automatic registration system for maternity and parental leave ② Abolition of stalking punishment law’s victim consent requirement ③ One-stop support for digital sex crime victims ④ Establishment of Employment Fairness Committee ⑤ Universal support for menstrual products for female adolescents ⑥ Change of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family functions ⑦ Gender wage disclosure system ⑧ Improvement of care workers’ treatment

These are the ‘gender equality policies’ announced twice by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, in August and November. The number of policies is large and the target groups are broad. They comprehensively cover beneficiaries including working mothers, care workers, and adolescents, addressing gender issues such as work-family balance, wage gaps, and dating violence. Lee views the intensifying gender conflict as a product of insufficient total opportunities and resulting intensified competition.

There is no major problem with the diagnosis and solutions, but an interesting trend is the shift in Lee’s emphasis. Recently, he has repeatedly made statements emphasizing ‘reverse discrimination against men,’ which is widely interpreted as a strategy to appeal to some men in their 20s and 30s. His previously announced policy vision and recent remarks are oddly out of sync.

Unlike the female vote of the 2030 generation, the voices of men in the same generation show strong cohesion, especially in male-dominated online communities. Political courting of these politically organized groups is prominent, and Lee appears to be riding this trend. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University analyzed, “For men in their 20s, both the Democratic Party’s support rate and the candidate’s support rate are low, so strategically, he is taking steps to raise male votes.”

However, regardless of whether this change will translate into votes in the actual election, many criticize it as a limited political move. With a significant portion of men in their 20s becoming conservative, it could become a ‘loss point’ that even causes the loss of the traditional female support base of the Democratic Party. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon interpreted, “Lee is trying to capture the ‘I-dae-nam (men in their 20s) vote’ that has defected from the Democratic Party, so occasionally there are parts that contradict existing women’s policy plans.”

The result of this phenomenon may be that a significant portion of women in their 20s shift their votes to third-party candidates. Professor Park Sang-byeong of Inha University said, “There is a phenomenon of consolidation of the ‘angry vote’ of I-dae-nam who opposed the Moon Jae-in administration’s women-friendly policies, and the strategy reflects that they cannot be ignored,” but added, “However, if the existing direction or principles of women’s policies are undermined, a significant portion of the 2030 female vote could be lost.”

Yoon Confident in Resolving Gender Issues through Innovation and Deregulation
Some Criticize “Oversimplifying Gender Conflict”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, proposes overcoming ‘gender conflict’ by expanding total job opportunities. His diagnosis and solutions are the same as Lee Jae-myung’s. However, on a detailed level, there is a significant difference in the underlying policy philosophy.

First, Yoon is confident that gender conflict can be resolved through institutional innovation and deregulation-driven growth. His logic is that if business prospers, there will be no conflicts among company members. However, some critics argue that this view oversimplifies gender conflict, which is caused by complex factors such as generation and ideology. An anonymous sociology professor at a university said, “Every country’s economy grows to a certain scale and then it becomes difficult to grow further,” adding, “Trying to solve problems based on an unattainable goal is not appropriate.” He further said, “Gender conflict involves not only low growth but also issues of improper distribution,” and “Solutions should include expanding female employment.”

In fact, frontline women’s organizations evaluate Yoon as lacking understanding of feminism. His responses to questions about low birth rates, such as “Feminism is politically exploited to emotionally block healthy dating,” or “Feminism should be healthy and not exploited for electoral advantage or to extend power,” have led to such assessments. Ryu Hyung-rim, head of the Gender Equality and Welfare Team at the Korean Women’s Minwoo Association, said at a press conference with 38 women’s civic groups, “We are witnessing presidential candidates who rather incite conflict,” and pointed out, “The core is not gender conflict reduced to scenes of conflict between individual women and men, but a structurally sexist system.”

Specific pledges include reorganizing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family into the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and expanding paid spousal parental leave from 10 to 20 days. Strengthening punishment for heinous sex crimes, eradicating power-based sexual crimes, and strengthening punishment for false accusations were also proposed. However, these pledges may still change in direction or content. Lee Soo-jung, a professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University who will serve as co-chair of Yoon’s election campaign committee, said, “There are protective custody laws and lifetime electronic anklet proposals in the youth policy, but I don’t understand how those relate to youth policy,” adding, “Someone needs to specifically explain to Yoon what problems are occurring on the ground regarding sexual violence false accusations.” The joining of this co-chair with such views suggests the possibility of major changes in Yoon’s gender equality pledges.