Lee Jae Myung: "No Political Retaliation Even If Elected... No Time to Dig Into Others' Pasts"

"State Affairs Must Serve the People... No Political Retaliation"
"Agriculture as a Strategic Industry... Expand Rice Price Stabilization and Support"

Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, stated at a campaign rally held in Naju, Jeollanam-do on the 17th, "We are not the kind of people who childishly and pathetically dig into others' pasts. Our time in office is only five years, and even that time must be devoted to serving the people."

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung is greeting citizens as he enters the campaign rally held in front of Manghwaro at Geumseonggwan, Naju, Jeollanam-do on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee emphasized, "All the capabilities of the state must be used for the lives of the people. They must not be used to fill the glory of vested interests, nor to eliminate political opponents or suppress opposing forces." He continued, "Behind most political fights, there are usually private interests. We must filter out such people and prevent them from breaking the rules. If we simply say, 'Both sides should stop fighting,' as a form of false equivalence, then good people end up suffering, and ultimately, the people are the ones who lose."

Regarding the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's exercise of the veto on the Grain Management Act, he criticized, "The president is rejecting anything and everything. By rejecting the sovereignty of the people and going against the flow of history, he has ultimately ended up being rejected himself." He added, "The power to correct this does not come from the Democratic Party or Lee Jae Myung, but from the people."

He said, "Even on the night of the 12·3 insurrection, the people rushed to the National Assembly, stopped soldiers with their bare hands, and made sure elections were held again. All power in the Republic of Korea comes from the people, and the president is not a king but a servant of the people."

On agricultural policy, Lee pledged, "We will regard agriculture as a strategic security industry and ensure that those engaged in it are adequately rewarded for their contributions to the public good. We will not only work to stabilize rice prices but also actively support the agricultural sector as a whole."