President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the "Listening to the Heart of Daegu" town hall meeting held at Daegu EXCO on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
On the 24th, President Lee Jaemyung stated, "Globally, the housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area are among the highest relative to income, and if this issue is not addressed, Korea could face a 'lost 30 years' like Japan."
President Lee made these remarks at the "Listening to the Heart of Daegu" town hall meeting held at Daegu EXCO that afternoon, noting, "There has been considerable controversy recently due to housing issues." He emphasized, "The housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area are among the highest in the world relative to income," and added, "Balanced regional development is not merely a consideration for the regions, but rather the last escape route for Korea to achieve sustainable growth and development."
President Lee also said, "Korea's biggest problem is not only the severe imbalance between the provinces and the metropolitan area, but also that the likelihood of the situation worsening appears much higher than the possibility of improvement." He pointed out, "Korea has continuously been a country of growth and development, and has served as a model of growth for the world. However, if you look inside, the disparities are too great. Some regions have too much, which is a problem, while others have too little, which is also a problem."
President Lee also gave a positive assessment of former President Park Chunghee's achievements in industrialization. He explained, "There are certainly aspects of former President Park that deserve criticism," but added, "Everyone would acknowledge his contributions to Korea's economic development." He further stated, "He pursued policies aimed at the so-called trickle-down effect, so that the entire population could benefit, and these policies actually produced results."
However, as a result of this process, concentration in the metropolitan area occurred. Therefore, President Lee proposed, "From now on, let's build a society where providing incentives to the provinces is regarded as natural."
President Lee promised, "Balanced regional development is a core policy of our new government, and we will pursue it very strongly and unwaveringly."
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