Opposition's Criticism of 'National Property Privatization' Met with Choo Kyung-ho's Rebuttal: "Baseless Imagination, Out of the Blue"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is speaking at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 11th. (Photo by Ministry of Economy and Finance)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] On the 11th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho strongly refuted opposition party criticisms labeling the government's plan to sell idle and underutilized state-owned assets as "privatization," saying, "It is really difficult to understand where and how baseless imaginations come from among opposition politicians," calling it an "absurd accusation."

At a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong in the afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Choo responded to related questions by stating, "(The sale of state-owned assets) has nothing to do with privatization." This was in response to the opposition Democratic Party of Korea defining the government's policy on selling idle and underutilized state-owned assets as "privatization" and opposing it by pushing for amendments to the State Property Act. The day before, Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party leadership, criticized the plan, saying it would "enrich a small privileged class."

Deputy Prime Minister Choo reiterated, "Among the state-owned assets scattered nationwide, we are selling land that is truly idle and assets that have been left unused for a long time," adding, "I really find it difficult to understand why privatization suddenly comes up here." He continued, "We are investigating idle assets and low-utilization assets among state-owned properties that have not been properly used and have been left idle for a long time, to return them to the public in a more productive way. Necessary parts will be sold through open and transparent procedures," and added, "I will personally go and explain regarding such (opposition's privatization) suspicions, and assure that there is no need for such concerns or worries."

Amid calls for the need to prepare a supplementary budget due to the recent resurgence of COVID-19 and damage caused by heavy rains, Deputy Prime Minister Choo dismissed the idea, saying, "It is neither the situation nor do we have the capacity to prepare a supplementary budget now," and added, "We are doing our best to prepare next year's main budget well."

Deputy Prime Minister Choo, who took office on May 10 and will mark his "100 days in office" next week, responded to a question about his reflections by saying, "I have just been running without rest, but since the economic situation is still difficult, I am fully committed to creating a more comfortable economic environment for the people," and added, "As long as I am in this position (Deputy Prime Minister for Economy), I will do my utmost to achieve good results."

Meanwhile, a recent public opinion poll showed President Yoon Seok-youl's approval rating dropping to the 20% range, and 61% of respondents said the current government's economic policies are "doing poorly." Regarding this, Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "Since the new government took office, we have implemented numerous measures, and their effects will gradually appear over time. However, difficulties in the people's economy, such as persistent price instability, continue, which seems to have resulted in such evaluation indicators," adding, "We humbly and seriously accept the evaluation results." He continued, "We will work harder to stabilize prices affecting people's livelihoods as soon as possible, and we will faithfully carry out various structural reform policies to strengthen the economic structure so that the potential for economic growth can increase."

The survey was conducted by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from August 8 to 10, targeting 1,008 people aged 18 and over nationwide, as part of the 2nd week of August national index survey (95% confidence level, sampling error ±3.1 percentage points). For detailed information on the survey, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.