Lee holds New Year press conference

[Anchor]

The leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, held a New Year press conference.

Instead of the welfare and distribution that the Democratic Party has emphasized so far, he brought forth pragmatism for recovery and growth.

There are interpretations that this is an attempt to target the centrist voters in light of a possible early presidential election.

Reporter Kim Cheong-yun has the details.

[Report]

The era's task identified by Lee Jae-myung is 'recovery and growth'.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader: "Due to the emergency martial law situation, we have lost and destroyed too much. Now, 'recovery and growth' has become the most urgent and significant task of this era."]

His intention is to restore democracy, which has collapsed due to the emergency martial law situation, and to create a foundation for resolving polarization through growth.

To achieve this, he declared a shift to pragmatism that transcends ideology and factions.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader: "Ideology and factions do not feed us. If we can catch the right mice, does it matter what color the cat is?"]

A 'pro-business growth' approach, rarely seen in the Democratic Party, has also emerged.

He stated that businesses should take the lead in opening the path to growth, proposing policies for the advancement of capital markets with a transparent stock system and the creation of new growth engines in AI and bio sectors.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader: "We must transition from an era where the government decides everything to one where 'private sector leads and the government supports'."]

While he humbly accepted the recent decline in party approval ratings, he viewed the increased public expectations for the Democratic Party as a reason for it.

Regarding his key pledge of basic income, he suggested that economic stability and recovery should take precedence and indicated a re-evaluation.

The People Power Party criticized Lee, stating that he, who has been engrossed in political struggles, is now mentioning the need to transcend ideology and urged him to put it into action rather than just words.

Lee Jae-myung particularly emphasized that 'political retaliation should not happen', and his declaration of unified politics and a shift to pragmatism is interpreted as an attempt to expand the party's base in preparation for an early presidential election amid changes in party approval ratings.

KBS News, Kim Cheong-yun.