"Democratic Party's No. 2 Talent Lee Jae-sung 'Hopes to Run in Busan' (Comprehensive)"

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The Democratic Party of Korea has recruited Lee Jae-sung, a former executive at NCSoft, as the second talent to be deployed in next year's general election. Lee expressed his ambition to achieve job innovation in the election and stated his intention to run in the 'Busan' constituency in the upcoming general election.

The Democratic Party's Talent Committee, chaired by leader Lee Jae-myung, held a talent recruitment ceremony at the National Assembly on the morning of the 14th and announced Lee's recruitment. Leader Lee introduced him as "simply an innovative economy leader." He added, "There are many areas we need to prepare for in the future, but the venture and startup sectors will ultimately determine our future," and urged, "I hope he will take the lead in planning startups, education, R&D (research and development), and the future innovative economy and pioneering the path."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader, are taking a commemorative photo on the 14th at the National Assembly with Lee Jae-sung, a former NCSoft entrepreneur and the party's "No. 2 general election recruited talent." Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Introducing himself as "the youngest of two sons and two daughters of a dockworker," Lee Jae-sung said, "After May of this year, the new government will enter its second year, so there was some expectation that things would change, that the president might change." However, he added, "Now that it is December, there are frequent talks that the situation is even worse than during the IMF crisis." He criticized, "How did our economy come to this state? Forget growth, with rising prices and interest rates and a recession, we have entered a clear era of downturn."

Lee said, "Many small and medium-sized enterprise or startup leaders are worried about the survival of their companies, and small business owners are worried about day-to-day survival," adding, "Will this month's employee salaries be delayed? Can we pay the rent and bank interest? After paying salaries, rent, and interest, how much will be left at home?" He especially emphasized, "I want to lead economic growth through corporate and industrial development together with the Democratic Party," and "I want to creatively solve the chronic social problem of jobs."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, shakes hands with Lee Jae-sung, a former NCSoft entrepreneur and the party's 'No. 2 general election recruitment talent,' at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Lee expressed his hope to run in the 'Busan' constituency. After the recruitment ceremony, when asked by reporters about running in the general election, he said, "Details need to be discussed with the party, but personally, I want to run in Busan, especially in the relatively underdeveloped western Busan," and added, "I will not run as a proportional representative." He continued, "As you can see from my background, I am interested in balanced development, reducing disparities, high value-added industries, and job creation," and said, "I want to create a successful case and have it spread nationwide."

Meanwhile, Lee is from Busan and graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Computational Statistics. After starting his career at Hansol PCS, he served as director at Netmarble, director at CJ Internet, executive director at NCSoft, CEO of NCSoft Services, and executive director at NC Cultural Foundation, holding executive positions in software companies for 15 years. He also served as chairman of the board at the startup Futurescolle, which developed non-face-to-face education solutions, and CEO of the autonomous driving startup Saesol Tech. He is the Democratic Party's second recruited talent following lawyer and climate expert Park Ji-hye, announced on the 11th.