President Lee Presides Over Gyeongnam Town Hall Meeting
Reaffirms Principle of "Regional Preference" in Fiscal and Industrial Policy
"How Does It Make Any Sense That Seoul Housing Costs 3 Billion Won Per Pyeong?" ... "We Could Face Japan's 'Lost 20 Years'"
Southern Inland Railway, a 60-Year Long-cherished Project: "Was It Really Delayed Because There Was No Money?" ... Groundbreaking Held on the 6th
"We Must Make a Fresh Start Based on Industrial and Artificial Intelligence Transformation"
President Lee Jaemyung said, "Balanced national development is no longer a choice but a survival strategy," adding, "We must correct the excessive concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area."
President Lee made these remarks in his opening statement at a town hall meeting held on the theme of "Gyeongnam, a National Strategic Hub Connecting Land, Sea, and Air" at the Changwon Convention Center in South Gyeongsang Province on the 6th. Including this Gyeongnam town hall meeting, it was his ninth town hall event.
President Lee again stressed that, given housing prices in Seoul, Korea could follow the same path as Japan. He said, "How does it make any sense that apartment prices in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area are going for 3 billion won per pyeong?" and added, "If prices overall keep rising toward that level on average, we will inevitably go through a 'lost 20 years' just like Japan did in the past." He continued, "Prices cannot rise forever to the end of the sky. Anything that deviates from normal levels is bound to return to where it should be. When that happens, there will be enormous pain."
Pointing to the vicious cycle of concentration in the metropolitan area, President Lee said, "People leave because there are no jobs, and companies cannot come because there are no people. Who is supposed to solve this? That is what politics is for." He went on, "Politics may look like it is done by politicians, but in the end it is done by the people," adding, "If the people actually act and make politics work that way, those in politics cannot ignore the will of the people." Referring also to a political culture trapped in partisan logic, he pointed out, "If you judge only by colors (ideology), then in the end even those who harm society can survive."
President Lee also reaffirmed the principle of "regional preference" in fiscal and industrial policy for balanced development. He said, "We are doing our utmost to formulate and implement a balanced development strategy," and added, "If conditions are equal, we will invest more fiscal resources in non-capital regions, and we will push for measures to provide more child benefits and local currency to those regions."
However, President Lee noted that "a brake has been applied in the National Assembly," adding, "Our proposal to pay more child benefits in non-capital regions was challenged as 'unfair.' When the playing field is already tilted, simply talking about formal equality only perpetuates inequality." He explained that this is because political power is concentrated in Seoul and the metropolitan area, and the number of lawmakers from those areas is far greater.
Referring to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Southern Inland Railway he attended earlier that morning, President Lee asked rhetorically, "Is it really true that this long-cherished project of 60 years could not be carried out because there was no money?" He said, "The Southern Inland Railway project is in the 7 trillion won range, while a single GTX line usually costs between 7 trillion and 10 trillion won," and added, "The Seoul metropolitan area has been put into a structure where infrastructure keeps being laid down, more people concentrate there, and housing prices rise further."
President Lee continued, "From now on, competition will go beyond being among companies and become a 'nation-to-nation contest' at the government level," emphasizing, "Balanced national development, breaking away from a republic of unearned real estate income, and moving from a world rife with unfairness to a fair society are all part of the same context." He added, "I have heard that the proportion of people who say they are 'proud to be citizens of the Republic of Korea' has recently risen to around 80%," and said, "As Gyeongnam was also a core pillar of industrialization, it would be good to make a fresh start based on industrial and artificial intelligence transformation."
Meanwhile, citing "democratic capacity" as the core of national competitiveness, President Lee said, "The driving force behind Korea's dynamism and speed is the democratic qualities and capabilities of its people." He also said, "Gyeongnam is also a stronghold of democracy. It is the starting point of the April 19 Revolution and a place that helped end the Yushin dictatorship through the Buma Uprising," adding, "Let us join forces and move forward together to build a new region of hope."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
