LEE STRESSES POLITICAL REFORM

[Anchor Lead]

On the political front, Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung continues to talk about reform and change. He announced that he will form a cabinet of different political affiliations and age groups and that he will stop engaging in negative campaigning. Lee visited Gwangju today to court voters in the Honam region.

[Pkg]

​Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung held a press conference early in the morning to declare his plan to overhaul the old political system. The key is to bring in younger politicians. He plans to form a younger cabinet and get recommendations from the people or the National Assembly to fill the prime minister post. His plan is in line with the ruling party’s commitment to change. Its leader Song Young-gil had declared that he would not run in the general election and that older politicians should step down now.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Candidate) : "I will appoint ministers in their 30s and 40s. I won’t disappoint the people by hiring the same people repeatedly."

Lee apologized for the distasteful situations surrounding the presidential election and announced that he would stop negative campaigning.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Candidate) : "I will stop negative campaigning completely and talk only about the people’s lives and our future. I ask the opposition party to participate in this too."

However, he made aggressive remarks targeting his opponent, Yoon Suk-yeol, in an impromptu speech given while campaigning in Gyeonggi-do Province, prompting people to question his declaration now to stop negative campaigning.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Candidate) : "In history, there were times when a leader misused his authority by resorting to the drinking culture and looking after only his associates and when he was so lazy that he let others do his work and the eunuchs ended up messing things up. What happened to countries like that?"

Lee also made labor pledges that centered around establishing a 4.5-day workweek system. He promised to start a social discussion on this topic and shorten working hours by providing incentives to the businesses that implement this system. He showed his arm that remains crooked since the industrial accident he faced at a young age. Comparing the current labor realities to his disfigured arm, Lee promised to straighten the country's labor system. He pledged to protect freelancers' basic labor rights and expand the safety net of the labor act. Lee visited Gwangju today and made campaign pledges to relocate the military air base to court voters in the Honam region.