President Lee Jae Myung is speaking at the "Public Communication Campaign Part 2, Listening to the Heart of Chungcheong," held in a town hall meeting format at Daejeon Convention Center on the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News
President Lee Jae Myung pointed out that resource allocation in South Korea was heavily skewed during the period of rapid economic growth, stating, "We must fundamentally change this and adopt a balanced development strategy."
On the 4th, President Lee attended a town hall meeting held at the Daejeon Convention Center under the theme "Public Communication Campaign: Listening to the Heart of Chungcheong," where he said, "During the era of rapid growth, resource allocation for development inevitably became concentrated on one side," expressing these views.
President Lee explained, "South Korea is the only country liberated from colonial rule that has achieved both economic growth and democratization. Although the rise of large conglomerates, known as chaebol, has led to many side effects, it is true that compressed growth greatly contributed to our progress."
He went on to say, "There have been both achievements and mistakes. I believe we have pursued an unbalanced growth strategy, rather than creating a fair society where everyone enjoys equal opportunities." He added, "The strategy of concentrating development in one area seems to have reached its limit. A privileged class has emerged, and there are many aspects in which we have failed to build a fair and transparent society."
President Lee also stated, "Now, we must create a normal economic ecosystem in which even large companies are eliminated from the market if they are inefficient, and small companies can grow as much as their competitiveness allows. We should also dismantle much of the privileged status held by certain special groups or individuals."
President Lee expressed his commitment to balanced regional development as well. He criticized, "At that time, growth resources were concentrated in Seoul. As everything became focused on the capital region, all other areas faced a survival crisis."
He said, "Daejeon is a science-centered city, but this region was hit hard by the previous administration's absurd research and development (R&D) budget cuts. Today, I want to hear your honest and diverse opinions, as sovereign citizens of Korea living in Chungcheong."
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