President Lee: "Privatization of Major Infrastructure Increases Public Burden"

On September 3, President Lee Jae-myung made it clear that the privatization of major infrastructure would ultimately increase the burden on the public following the announcement of public institution function reforms.

On this day, President Lee shared a news article via X (formerly Twitter) reporting that the government plans to reduce the number of public institutions by 109 through measures such as the integration of five major power generation companies. In his message, he expressed his stance on the matter.

President Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

He also remarked, "As promised, we are taking both institutional and policy measures to prevent the privatization of railways, electricity, water, airports, and ports."

Referring to a poster outlining his previous pledge to oppose the privatization of electricity, water, airports, and railways, President Lee further commented, "It is now being implemented after four years."

On the same day, the government announced its “Plan for Advancing Public Institution Functions,” stating its intention to restructure and consolidate public institutions responsible for national key infrastructure. According to these measures, the five power generation companies will be merged into a single entity, while the Korea National Oil Corporation and the Korea Gas Corporation will also be combined. Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) will be reorganized as two separate entities by dividing its functions, and the four regional port authorities will be unified into a single port authority.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.