Yoon Seok-yeol Visits Daegu Seomun Market: "Middle Class and Self-Employed Should Become the Backbone of the Economy"

Traditional Market Self-Employed Must Lead Prosperous Lives
"Difficulties Since VAT Implementation in the 70s"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting citizens who came out to welcome him during his visit to Seomun Market in Jung-gu, Daegu on the 12th. Photo by Transition Team Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the second day of his regional tour schedule, Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect, visited Daegu Seomun Market on the 12th and emphasized, "The ultimate goal of all national government policies is to make the middle class and self-employed the backbone of our economic society."

On that day, Yoon said, "We must ensure that those who run small businesses in traditional markets, which form the backbone of our economic society, can live prosperous lives as they did in the past."

He explained, "When a mother owned a shop in the market, she was able to send her children to college and even study abroad in the United States. The self-employed were like a solid backbone in our society," adding, "They truly served as the economic foundation of households comparable to large corporations and have been a strong backbone of Korea's economic society. However, as the national economy worsened and value-added tax was implemented, the lives of those running small businesses in markets began to become increasingly difficult from the late 1970s."

He also comforted, "With online distribution and the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, traditional markets, which were already in a critical state, suffered a direct blow, enduring harsh times almost akin to a war. In particular, Daegu was the first to be hit by COVID-19, and people went through an extremely difficult time without being able to recover their composure."