PPP to Lee Jaemyung on 'Forgoing Livelihood Support Payment': "Hope This Is Not a Political Maneuver"

Lee Jaemyung: "No Objection If Effective Livelihood Policy Emerges"
People Power Party: "First Apologize for the Historic Budget Cut"
Lee Urges Swift Pension Reform... "Let the Ruling Party Claim the Achievement"
Kim Sanghoon: "Pension Reform Was Not on the Democratic Party’s Previous Policy Agenda"

The People Power Party issued a statement on January 31 regarding Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said he could forgo the 250,000 won livelihood support payment for an extra budget. The party stated, "We hope this is not a temporary ploy to shift the political landscape."

Shin Dongwook, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters at the National Assembly that morning, "For years, we have consistently called for pension reform discussions, the passage of livelihood bills, and opposition to the 250,000 won cash handout bill. These issues have even led to parliamentary and political gridlock. Given this sudden shift, we need to consider what the real intention is."

Earlier that morning, during the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council meeting, Lee stated, "If the government or the ruling party says they cannot proceed with an extra budget because of the livelihood support payment, we are willing to forgo it." He added, "If a more effective livelihood support policy emerges, it doesn’t matter if the extra budget does not include the support payment, so please proceed with the extra budget." He also emphasized, "If the decision is made to provide the support payment, it’s fine whether it is distributed differentially or selectively."

On the issue of National Pension reform, Lee said, "We must implement at least part of a bipartisan pension reform," and proposed, "Let’s swiftly conclude parametric reforms (adjustments to contribution rates and income replacement ratios) by the end of February." He continued, "Structural reform is not easy, so perhaps we should focus solely on parametric reform. We should not make excuses. Seeing all these conditions being attached, it seems there is no real intention to pursue the so-called four major reforms." He added, "It would be ideal to implement a perfect plan, but even an imperfect one is better than doing nothing at all. It doesn’t matter who proposes it. I hope the People Power Party makes it their achievement."

Kim Sanghoon, Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, previously claimed during the party’s emergency committee meeting, held before the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council meeting, "The Democratic Party issued a statement during the Lunar New Year holiday falsely claiming that the People Power Party is unconditionally opposing the extra budget and rejecting pension reform." He said, "The Democratic Party’s unilateral passage of the budget bill last December was because the government and the People Power Party did not agree to increase the budget for local gift certificates by 1 trillion won, as Lee insisted." He pointed out, "At the very least, if the Democratic Party wants to talk about an extra budget, it should first apologize to the public for the unilateral and forced budget cuts at the end of last year." Regarding pension reform, he added, "During the last policy consultative meeting, pension reform was the main agenda of the People Power Party, but it was not even included in the Democratic Party’s agenda."

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When a reporter asked, "Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Changyong mentioned the need for an extra budget, and wouldn’t it be better for the ruling party to show reasonable responsibility?" Shin, the chief spokesperson, replied, "Governor Rhee oversees macroeconomic management, so he may be concerned about the waning vitality of our economy. However, our stance on the extra budget is that the Democratic Party should first apologize for the initial misstep." He continued, "Last year’s budget was passed for strategic and political reasons. In our constitutional history, there has never been a case where the opposition party alone passed the budget. This cannot be considered normal. They are now calling for an extra budget without any explanation for this, and we criticize that."

He added, "Lee said he is somewhat willing to accept the government’s proposed extra budget, but the government has never submitted such a proposal. The government has not stated its position on any additional budget items." He emphasized, "We believe this is just lip service to mislead the public. We hope they will engage in dialogue with greater sincerity."

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