Lee: "Too Lenient on Election Crimes... Strict Response to Smear Campaigns, Abuse of Government Authority, and Vote-Buying"

President Lee Presides Over Cabinet Meeting on the 24th
"Stressing Strict Response Before Election Season Begins"

President Lee Jaemyung is speaking at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 24th. Yonhap News

On the 24th, President Lee Jaemyung ordered a strict response to three major election-related serious crimes: smear campaigns, abuse of government authority in elections, and vote-buying.

Blue House spokesperson Kang Yoojeong said that on this day, President Lee issued these instructions to the police, the prosecution, and the National Election Commission at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House. President Lee pointed out, "It seems we have become too lax about crimes that disrupt the election atmosphere, such as the dissemination of false information," adding, "Before the full-fledged election season begins, it is necessary to emphasize in advance the strict response guidelines of the supervisory agencies."

President Lee also told Cabinet members, "If you have any individual proposals, feel free to contact me at any time and we can discuss them," and he was reported to have stressed to the Minister of Employment and Labor that "the number of industrial accidents in our country must be reduced to the average level of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)."

Meanwhile, in a closed-door meeting, President Lee received a report from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on "stabilization measures for rare earths." Spokesperson Kang conveyed that the ministry requested support at the working-level consultation stage, explaining that it is an issue requiring cooperation across multiple ministries.

At the Cabinet meeting that day, 35 promulgation bills, 1 bill, 40 presidential decrees, and 4 general agenda items were also deliberated and approved.

The approved items included amendments to the Performing Arts Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, which ban all forms of illegal ticket sales for performances to ensure fair access to performances and establish a sound distribution order, and which provide for the confiscation and collection of profits from ticket scalping.

Also passed were a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, which relaxes the criteria for tax-exempt wages for production workers in order to ease the burden of living costs on the public, and a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, which expands the scope of rental housing eligible for monthly rent tax credits for multi-child households.