“The Secret of the 26 Trillion ‘War Supplementary Budget’?… A Boss Who Treats Employees While the Company Is Going Under”

[Choice Times=Young-Eun Choi, Intern Reporter]

“A boss who splurges on company dinners while the business is failing.”

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, took direct aim at the Lee Jae-myung administration’s so-called “26 trillion won war supplementary budget” with this remark.

On the 31st, Lee wrote on his social media, “The exchange rate hit the 1,520 won range during intraday trading, the worst level since the 2009 global financial crisis,” adding, “While the dollar is weakening globally, only the Korean won is collapsing. Even excluding the Trump factor, this is a failure of the Blue House’s macroeconomic policy.”

He continued, “When the exchange rate rises, factory prices go up, retail prices go up, and the cost of living explodes,” criticizing that “even if the government hands out 500,000 won, prices will rise even faster, creating a vicious cycle where people end up worse off—a situation we experienced exactly under the Moon Jae-in administration.”

He further added, “The essence of the livelihood recovery subsidy is that your bank balance increases, but what you can actually buy decreases,” and argued, “Borrowing 26 trillion won to distribute cash and passing the bill to the next generation—this supplementary budget is aimed not at the people, but at boosting the ruling party’s approval ratings.”

Below is the full text of Lee Jun-seok’s social media post:

“A boss who splurges on company dinners while the business is failing.
That is exactly what the Lee Jae-myung administration’s 26 trillion won supplementary budget looks like.

The exchange rate hit the 1,520 won range during intraday trading. This is the worst since the 2009 global financial crisis. While the dollar index fell by 9.4%, the Korean won actually depreciated. The dollar is weakening globally, yet only the won is collapsing. Even excluding the Trump factor, this is a failure of the Blue House’s macroeconomic policy.

When the exchange rate rises, factory prices rise, retail prices rise, and the cost of living explodes. Even if cash handouts are distributed, supermarket prices will rise even faster. That vicious cycle—giving out 500,000 won only to have prices rise even more, leaving people worse off—is something we experienced precisely under the Moon Jae-in administration.

The reality of the livelihood recovery subsidy is that while your bank balance increases, what you can actually buy decreases.

Cash handouts are politics; macroeconomic stability is policy.

Borrowing 26 trillion won to distribute cash and passing the bill to the next generation—this supplementary budget is aimed not at the people, but at the ruling party’s approval ratings.”

#SupplementaryBudget #KoreanEconomy #ExchangeRateCrisis