LEE JAE-MYUNG ON N. KOREA POLICIES

[Anchor Lead]

Ruling Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is focused on presenting a vision different from the Moon Jae-in administration. Lee said North Korea policies will also be different and he won’t shy away from speaking up to the regime. He also expressed plans of forming a cooperative government after the election and hinted at possible coalitions during the campaign.

[Pkg]

DP Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung stressed pragmatism and vowed to take corresponding measures if North Korea acts out excessively like the time when it blew up the inter-Korean liaison office.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "I will speak up about North Korea and fend off criticism of being humiliated by the regime."

Unlike the current administration which promised to put an end to non-regular, temporary jobs, Lee questioned whether unilaterally converting non-regular workers to regular full-time positions was true justice. Regarding hikes in real estate holding and transaction taxes, he said that was a policy failure.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "If you ask if the Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung administrations will be different or similar, I would say there will be similarities and differences."

Lee emphasized housing supply was also insufficient and vowed to flexibly review the option of lifting greenbelt designation from some areas. Lee also said that if he wins the election, he will form a cooperative government and pragmatic Cabinet that does not distinguish between different blocs and camps.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "It would be better to realize such coalitions during the campaign process. That’s my expectation."

His remark is viewed as targeting other presidential hopefuls such as Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Dong-yeon. On the party level, many figures based in Jeollado province including former lawmakers Chun Jung-bae and Yoo Seong-yeob who had left the DP when President Moon Jae-in was party leader have now returned. Meanwhile the splinter Open Democratic Party held a vote of its members and approved a merger with the DP. The DP will also wrap up related procedures next month and conclude a grand consolidation of the wider ruling camp. On Friday, Lee visited a private hospital which has been named a COVID-19 treatment facility after converting all of its 200 beds exclusively for COVID-19 patients. There he spoke with healthcare workers and listened to their views.