People Power Party Senior Members Urge President Lee to Face Public Suffering... Criticisms on Real Estate, ETFs, and More

"The Public Will Judge by Results, Not by Eloquent Words"

During the press conference held by President Lee Jaemyoung on the morning of the 18th, several senior members of the People Power Party voiced their criticisms. Concerns were mainly raised about issues such as re-election, cabinet appointments, real estate, and stocks. There were also calls to begin discussions on constitutional amendment.

Appearance of the People Power Party's floor policy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th

Kwon Youngse, a fifth-term lawmaker, stated on his social media account that day, "No matter how well-intentioned the government's plans may be, if it becomes harder to find a home, livelihoods become insecure, and there is no way to predict tomorrow, then the policies must change." He added, "The lives of the people are not an experiment for the government to prove it is right."

Assemblyman Kwon further emphasized, "When it comes to people's livelihoods, the pain endured by citizens must be faced, rather than relying on the government's convictions." He continued, "Labeling those seeking stable housing as speculators and attributing market instability to agitation from opposing forces will not lead to solutions." He also pointed out, "Criticisms of policy should be accepted as grounds for revising those policies."

Ahn Cheolsoo, a four-term lawmaker, remarked, "During today's press conference, President Lee issued dozens of metaphorical promissory notes regarding key issues such as the impossibility of re-election, withdrawal of prosecution, reforms in prosecution and police, housing supply, deployment of troops to war zones, and personnel failures." He went on, "Whether or not Kim Seungwon’s nomination for Minister of Justice is withdrawn will be the first test to determine if these promissory notes hold any value or become worthless." He added, "The public will judge by actions and results, not by eloquent words."

Lee Jongbae, another four-term lawmaker, criticized, "Due to the failure of President Lee Jaemyoung's real estate policy, real estate prices in Seoul have soared to record highs, with the average apartment rental price even exceeding 600 million won." He continued, "Yet, when a reporter asked about rental housing measures, the president simply evaded the question through his typical equivocal rhetoric. Furthermore, he displayed an overly simplistic view—assuming that balanced national development would automatically resolve real estate issues."

Song Eonseok, a three-term lawmaker, pointed out, "The answer regarding single-asset leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was irresponsible." Assemblyman Song elaborated, "President Lee admitted he was briefed at the time about the introduction of leverage ETFs but, regarding the decision-making process itself, his response was simply, 'Someone must have made the decision.' It is hard to understand how, after being briefed on such high-risk financial products, he does not know who made the decision or on what basis."

Meanwhile, Kim Taeho, a four-term lawmaker and proponent of constitutional amendment, raised an opposing view within the party, arguing that this opportunity should be used to start discussions on constitutional revision. Assemblyman Kim stated, "(The purpose of constitutional amendment is) to decentralize the excessive power concentrated in the presidency and move beyond political polarization, establishing a framework for coexistence and cooperation." He added, "It is time to move beyond the 1987 system, in which the winner takes all and the loser rejects everything."

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