Hong Seokcheon Engages in Dialogue with President Lee as Representative of the Self-Employed
"Local Governments Offer Similar Tourism Products, Lacking Differentiation"
President Lee: "This Was a Major Topic at the Senior Aides' Meeting"
Broadcaster Hong Seokcheon openly criticized the government and local governments’ tourism projects during a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung. On the 14th, at the Content Culture Square in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, the digital talk live event "The Voice of the People Becomes Policy" was held, where Hong participated as a representative of the self-employed.
President Lee Jae-myung listens to the remarks of broadcaster Hong Seokcheon, who attended as a self-employed mentor, at the digital talk live "The Voice of the People Becomes Policy" meeting held on the 14th at the Content Culture Square in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
At the event, Hong pointed out, "Hundreds of billions of won in tourism budgets are allocated nationwide. There are about 200 mural villages and more than 150 suspension bridges in Korea," adding, "Recently, cable cars have started to be installed across the country." He further criticized, "It seems that a single construction company is handling all the cable car projects nationwide. Since all local governments are offering similar tourism products, there is no differentiation," and argued, "Even if just 20% of that money were given to local creators, they would do a much better job."
President Lee responded immediately, saying, "This was a major topic of discussion at the senior aides’ meeting yesterday." He added, "Fostering the cultural industry is a core project of this administration," and emphasized, "We need to highlight local characteristics and enhance competitiveness."
On this day, Hong Seokcheon also shared the difficulties he faces as a self-employed person. He said, "Every administration has reached out to me for my opinion, but it has never been effective," and added, "I hope this time, there will be real results." Drawing on his parents’ 40 years of running a business in a rural market, he remarked, "Although traditional markets seem to have improved a lot, parking must be addressed as the top priority." He continued, "Traditional markets occupy the most central locations in their neighborhoods, but after 5 or 6 p.m., these prime spots become dark and deserted," suggesting, "Developing them into night markets could be one solution."
President Lee agreed with Hong’s comments, saying, "That’s a valid point," and added, "Policies for small business owners often focus only on merchants." He immediately instructed the chief policy officer to review the matter. He continued, "We will solve the problem of not knowing where to go when starting a business," and promised, "We will create a one-stop service system so the government can connect relevant agencies on behalf of entrepreneurs." He also stressed, "Even when budgets are allocated, a select few end up taking everything," and emphasized, "To truly support small business owners, we need thoughtful policy design and capable personnel."
In particular, President Lee addressed the issue of self-employed debt, saying, "When it comes to financial issues, I hope we can take a more progressive approach than we do now," and explained, "In advanced countries, unpaid debts are quickly forgiven. In our country, once you are in debt, you are chased for life, which is not desirable from a societal perspective."
He added, "I suggested that if we raise the interest rate on loans for groups with a high probability of repayment by about 0.1%, we could lower it for more vulnerable groups, but I was harshly criticized as a socialist or a communist," emphasizing, "This is simply part of the principle of community. We need to be a bit more generous."
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