YOON PROPOSES ECONOMY GROWTH TARGET

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PPP presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol has held a press conference to propose the potential economic growth target of 4 percent. He also vowed to pay one million won annually to parents of young children to tackle Korea's low birthrate issue.

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Yoon Suk-yeol pledged in his press conference what he called "responsible change." He pointed at the pandemic, economic polarization and the market economy crisis as the risk factors of Korean society.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "Polarization among classes and regions keeps intensifying. Extreme polarization in education makes our future prospect quite bleak."

Yoon has vowed to help small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic by introducing a rent sharing system. He says rental costs should be shared equally by landlords, tenants and the state. He promised 50 trillion won in state funding to make this happen. To stimulate economic growth, Yoon proposed what he called "fair, innovative economy" centered on the private sector to create jobs and boost the nation's economic growth potential from the current 2 percent to over 4 percent. To encourage more people to have children, Yoon promised a one million won annual allowance to each household.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "To help families that want to have children I will provide an allowance to all parents."

Yoon also vowed to set up a new ministry to tackle social issues concerning children and families. He didn't say whether it would be an alternative to his pledge to scrap the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Regarding North Korea's nuclear provocations, Yoon says a preemptive strike is needed.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "It only less than one minute for North Korean missiles to hit the capital region and cause mass destruction. A preemptive strike is the only choice."

The Democratic Party blasted Yoon for his provocative remarks by saying a preemptive strike could result in a war. On Wednesday, Yoon announced his pledges for the gaming sector, including his solutions to unreasonable regulations. He also watched an e-sports match to sway young voters.