President Lee Jae-myung characterized the current economic situation as a 'growth hurdle' stemming from the previous administration and stated that policy efforts should focus on recovering growth for the time being. He warned that failure to achieve sustained growth could exacerbate polarization and lead to a reduction in welfare, urging understanding of the government's growth-centered policy approach.
On this day, President Lee shared an editorial on his X (formerly Twitter) account, emphasizing the need to bolster measures to alleviate polarization in the proposed 820 trillion won budget for the upcoming year. He stated, "For now, we need to concentrate more on recovering growth."
He stressed that prioritizing growth does not imply a retreat in welfare policies.
President Lee assessed that if the economy remains stagnant at 0% growth or regresses into negative growth, polarization could widen further. He explained that stagnation in economic growth would reduce the government's fiscal capacity, potentially leading to cuts in welfare spending.
Regarding the prioritization of growth and welfare, he dismissed the notion that "expanding welfare while giving up on growth is not an option." While he acknowledged that ideally, growth and welfare should be expanded simultaneously, he noted that the current economic conditions make this challenging.
President Lee described the current moment as a time to "expand the pie," emphasizing the need to first strengthen the overall growth foundation of the economy. He argued that the fiscal capacity and economic outcomes secured through growth should enhance the sustainability of welfare expansion.
He added, "The government is also working to expand welfare, and some have even criticized next year's budget as excessively populist in terms of welfare."
President Lee remarked, "While it may be difficult to be satisfied, we are striving to expand welfare. There are even accusations of excessive welfare populism, but it has only been a year, so I ask for a bit more time."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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