Lee Jae-myung: "I'm Not Idle Enough to Talk Ideology... I Will Save People's Livelihoods"

"This fight will not end even if I fall"

On the occasion of his first anniversary in office, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has begun an indefinite hunger strike, delivered a direct blow to President Yoon Seok-yeol's 'ideological debate,' saying, "We are not idle enough to be talking about ideology."

On the 6th, Lee stated on his social media (SNS), "What era is this administration living in? The president, who should be taking care of the people's lives, has declared ideological primacy," expressing his view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "(The president) sacrifices people's livelihoods for outdated ideology and historical distortion, tearing the people apart and causing conflict. Past political forces pretended to be democratic and pretended to engage in dialogue. But the current administration does not even pretend," emphasizing, "Ideology does not put food on the table. No ideology can be more important than the people's livelihood."

He also made it clear that he will not give up his hunger strike. He said, "This fight will not end even if I collapse. As my strength wanes, more citizens will gain strength, and as my voice grows quieter, more citizens will shout louder," adding, "Believing that the people are behind me, I will throw my whole body to save the people's livelihood trapped in the swamp of ideology."

In an interview with the YouTube program 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the same day, Lee expressed concern, saying, "People are struggling so much with their livelihoods that they expect a reliable, father-like state or government, but the current state and government resemble a scary stepfather wielding a cane."

Regarding the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, he criticized the government, saying, "They say they will discharge nuclear substances that will never disappear into the sea in front of us, and even though they are dumping it, they claim to be siding with foreign countries and helping Japan. Is this even possible?" He added, "They are making citizens who oppose this their enemies, even running advertisements funded by taxpayers' money claiming it is safe and supporting Japan, and even fighting with citizens who make legitimate claims. Is this a declaration of war against the people?"

He also expressed concerns about next year's general election. He said, "The general election next year is really important in a democratic society, and for now, since there is still a majority opposition party, they cannot completely overhaul laws and systems. However, within the scope of these laws and systems, they create enforcement ordinances and commit all sorts of misdeeds. If they become the majority party or so, they will likely overhaul the laws and systems entirely," warning, "If that happens, the entire system of this country will collapse."