SEOUL– The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) blasted the government’s economic policies on Thursday, saying everything from jobs to the real estate market have suffered under the current administration.
“The Moon Jae-in government blames the economic crisis on COVID-19, but it began with income-led growth,” Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said in his first speech as the PPP’s floor leader to a plenary parliamentary session.
Income-led growth refers to the Moon government’s policy of creating a virtuous circle of economic growth by boosting the income of ordinary households.
Kim said the number of jobs under the Moon administration grew on average by 83,000 a year, or 22 percent the level under the preceding Park Geun-hye administration.
He also said the number of non-regular workers grew by 945,000 over the four years of the Moon administration, which is 1.8 times the number under Park and 4.2 times the number under the Lee Myung-bak administration, which preceded Park’s.
Kim went on to denounce the government’s real estate policies, saying they have created a “real estate hell” over the course of issuing 25 different policies.
Home prices in South Korea rose by 5.36 percent last year from a year earlier, the fastest pace in nine years, according to the Korea Real Estate Board.
To increase housing supply, Kim said the PPP will push to ease related regulations, such as loan restrictions and taxes on homeowners.
The floor leader also called for abolishing the Moon administration’s nuclear phase-out scheme, saying the government should immediately begin operations of the Shin Hanul 1 and Shin Hanul 2 nuclear plants built last year and resume construction of the Shin Hanul 3 and Shin Hanul 4.
Kim apologized to the people for his party’s “many past mistakes” and vowed to work for a change of government in next year’s presidential election.
“We will become a platform upon which everyone, from those who achieved industrialization and democratization to those who will lead our future, can share our proud history and enter the new era,” he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency