Lee Junseok Attends Seoul National University Talk Concert
"Not a Problem of the Five-Year Single-Term System"
"Conservative Camp Must Separate Politics and Religion"
Regarding the constitutional amendment that emerged as a key issue during the impeachment crisis of President Yoon Suk-yeol, Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, stated, "Yoon Suk-yeol did not cause problems because he is a five-year single-term president; even if he were a four-year renewable-term president or a prime minister in a parliamentary system, he would have caused trouble." Lee made these remarks on the 17th while attending a talk concert titled 'Asking the Future of Korean Politics,' hosted by the College of Social Sciences at Seoul National University.
Reform New Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok is giving a lecture at a talk concert titled "Asking the Future of Korean Politics" held at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News
Lee continued, "The problems arise because (President Yoon) is a very unusual person," and argued, "If the system tries to control this by implementing various mechanisms, it would ironically lead to a 'reduction of authority' that prevents the person from working effectively." He also said, "Currently, the Republic of Korea's president has extensive appointment powers," adding, "It is problematic that the president exercises appointment rights over public enterprises and public institutions, and it is also problematic that bureaucrats impose excessive regulations."
When asked how the next president could resolve the current national conflicts, he insisted, "The conservative camp must separate religion and politics." He pointed out, "There are many agitators now," and "Because the means of agitation have become very simplified through platforms like YouTube, such people can easily appear and start spreading various messages if they are just a bit articulate." He added, "I think it is very immoral for religion to continue leading various rallies," and "The very mixing of religious funds and political funds is immoral."
Regarding ways to secure South Korea's competitiveness in the international community, he said, "The perspective on making money (in Korean society) needs to change." He explained, "There is an increasing number of startups being launched not in Korea but in Silicon Valley. This is because the outcomes of making money differ between Korea and the U.S.," and evaluated, "If Coupang had not gone public in the U.S., it would likely have been continuously hampered by massive distribution-related regulations."
Targeting Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, he criticized, "A certain presidential candidate is doing something called 'Jambidia,' and while having no plan on how to create a company like Nvidia, says that if such a company is created, they will take 30% of the shares," adding, "From this, it seems they will not actually create it." He went on to say, "The way for the Republic of Korea to survive amid crises is unlimited investment in people," and "The moment AI (artificial intelligence) and robots become active, people with lower productivity than these will lose their jobs. We inevitably have to move in the direction of increasing individual productivity."
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