"Progressive Administrations Have Also Pursued Growth"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 14th, "People keep accusing me of shifting to the right, but I have not shifted to the right," adding, "I am simply in my original position."
On the same day, Lee appeared on the YouTube channel 'Lee Dong-hyung TV' and stated, "(The conservative camp) acts as if the discourse on growth is their exclusive domain and a kind of trademark, but when the Democratic Party only advocated for redistribution and then slightly moved the policy line to the right during election season, they launched a framing attack."
Lee said, "Lately, people keep misunderstanding and asking, 'Are you only talking about growth?' Progressive administrations have never focused solely on redistribution; naturally, they pursued growth. However, it has been made to seem as if this never happened, and we have been attacked with claims like 'Progressives always emphasize only redistribution and just want to share wealth.'"
Earlier, Lee hinted at the possibility of accepting an exemption from the 52-hour workweek under the Semiconductor Special Act, following the abolition of the financial investment income tax. This led some in the political sphere to evaluate his actions as a 'rightward shift.'
He continued, "To create a 'society where basic life is guaranteed and the future is not uncertain,' which I am planning, growth is necessary," adding, "Growth is essential to share and to enjoy fair opportunities within that."
Regarding the People Power Party's criticism of the Democratic Party's growth discourse, Lee said, "The conservative regime has begun to lose its agenda," and "Recently, the growth discourse has been taken away from them by us."
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