Lee's Hotel Economy Theory Sparks Debate: Lee Junseok Asks "Is It Perpetual Motion?" Lee Jaemyung Responds "Why So Simple?"

Lee Jaemyung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, engaged in a heated debate with Lee Junseok, the Reform New Party candidate, over Lee Jaemyung's so-called "hotel economy theory," which uses the concept of a circular economy as a metaphor, during a debate hosted by the National Election Commission on the 18th.

Lee Jaemyung stated, "It was an extremely simplified explanation to illustrate the need for economic circulation." The hotel economy theory refers to an argument Lee Jaemyung made during a campaign rally in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on the 16th. He claimed that if a traveler pays a 100,000 won deposit at a hotel, the hotel owner uses that money at a furniture store, a fried chicken restaurant, a stationery shop, and so on, causing the money to circulate. He added, "But even if the traveler cancels the reservation and gets the 100,000 won refunded, the money has already circulated. That is the economy."

In response, Lee Junseok asked, "Were you referring to the Keynesian multiplier effect?" Lee Jaemyung replied, "Yes, I was talking about the multiplier effect. If money just sits still, it's as if it doesn't exist. Whether it is spent once, twice, or three times, circulation makes a difference."

21st Presidential Election 1st Candidate Debate

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Kim Moonsoo of the People Power Party (from left), Kwon Youngguk of the Democratic Labor Party, Lee Junseok of the Reform New Party, and Lee Jaemyung of the Democratic Party pose for a commemorative photo before the start of the 21st presidential election 1st candidate debate held on the 18th at SBS Prism Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 2025.5.18 [National Assembly Photojournalists Group]

photo@yna.co.kr (End)

Lee Junseok then pressed, "If you look at the diagram you drew at the time, the money never disappears and just keeps circulating as one unit. Isn't that perpetual motion?" Lee Jaemyung explained, "For example, that's just meant as an illustration."

When Lee Junseok further challenged, "If you think that's wrong, why did you bring it up again? Does it really keep circulating as one unit?" Lee Jaemyung responded, "That's an extreme example. Why does it have to be so simple?"

Lee Junseok countered, "Weren't you the one who explained it so simply?" To this, Lee Jaemyung emphasized, "I explained it simply to make it easier to understand. The important thing in the economy is circulation."