Lee Junseok Appeals to President Lee and the National Assembly Amid France's Recent Crisis
"We Are Standing on Even Drier Tinder, Though the Fire Hasn't Started Yet"
"President Lee's Vote-Buying Philosophy Must End... If We Don't Stop Now, a Crisis
Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, recently referenced the crisis in France and urged President Lee Jaemyung, the administration, and the National Assembly to recognize the seriousness of the fiscal crisis.
According to political sources on the 9th, Lee wrote on his Facebook page on the 7th, "I took some time during the holidays to read foreign news, and I saw that French politics was collapsing." He continued, "(In France) prime ministers have resigned one after another, the national debt has soared to 115.6% of GDP, and the fiscal deficit has reached 5.8%." He added, "President Macron simultaneously played the contradictory cards of tax cuts and welfare expansion, and as the fiscal situation faltered, politics collapsed." He also said, "This is no different from the cowardice of our own politics, which disguises parametric adjustments of 'paying more and receiving more' as pension reform."
Lee pointed out that the crisis in France serves as a warning to South Korea, emphasizing, "Korea is even more vulnerable." He said, "Our national debt has surpassed 50% of GDP. While the figure is lower than France's, we are not an issuer of a key currency. In times of crisis, we cannot simply print more currency or immediately secure US dollars." He continued, "At the current pace, our debt ratio will exceed 150% in 40 years. The fire has not started yet, but we are standing on a pile of even drier tinder."
Lee introduced President Lee's remarks, such as 'Saying the country should not take on debt is ignorant' and 'If you can harvest a sack of rice in the fall, you should borrow seeds if necessary to plant,' and commented, "Those seeds are the people's taxes, and it is ultimately the people who will reap the harvest." He questioned, "Why is it that while loan regulations are tightened for the public, the national debt can be increased without restraint?" He further asked, "Has the President's economic philosophy now moved beyond hotel economics to a state where the 'tragedy of the commons' has become ingrained? Is the plan to buy votes with national debt because individuals cannot take out loans?" He added, "Can the country's economy function if people fill their camper vans with electricity and water from public restrooms, take heaps of onions from Costco, and pocket all the pencils from IKEA?"
Lee stated, "President Lee Jaemyung's vote-buying philosophy has been clear since his time as governor of Gyeonggi Province," adding, "Through three rounds of disaster basic income, he left nearly 2 trillion won in debt, and that burden still falls on the residents of Gyeonggi Province. Now that I am a National Assembly member representing Gyeonggi Province, I see a flood of requests for metropolitan buses, road network expansion, and new schools throughout the southern region, including Dongtan, but empty fiscal coffers are holding us back."
Lee also emphasized, "It is time to shift from 'vote-buying fiscal policy' to a fiscal policy that can increase the investment multiplier." He continued, "We must boldly eliminate overlapping welfare programs and populist projects, and concentrate those resources into education, technology, and industrial efficiency. We need to greatly expand opportunities for retraining and transition training so that workers and young people can adapt to technological changes." He particularly stressed, "This fiscal crisis is not about political camps winning or losing; it is a matter of national survival. The ruling party and the opposition must each persuade their own supporters. In the upcoming budget session, every member of the National Assembly must act not as a single grasshopper but as one of 300 ants." He concluded, "The President must first change his philosophy on fiscal policy. If we do not stop now, France's present will become South Korea's future."
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