The People Power Party strongly criticized Kim Yong-beom, the presidential office's policy chief, over his description of the economy as an "unprecedented boom," calling the remarks "beyond deception — an outright insult to the public."
Park Sung-hoon, the party's chief spokesperson, said in a statement Friday that Kim appeared to be "living in a different world, not merely out of touch with reality." Park said that citing a handful of statistics the public cannot feel in their daily lives and declaring an "unprecedented boom" while ignoring the collapse of grassroots economic activity and the suffering of ordinary people "is not economic analysis — it is a distortion of reality."
Park added that what was even more alarming was Kim's renewed mention of adjusting property holding and capital gains taxes, saying the presidential office was again "pointing the blade of taxes and regulation at the real estate market." He criticized Cheong Wa Dae for "painting the collapse of people's livelihoods as an unprecedented boom out of arrogance born from statistical illusions, while scheming yet another tax bomb."
Choe Eun-seok, the party's floor spokesperson, also criticized Kim. "Kim listed various statistics, but the conclusion is clear: stronger property holding taxes, stronger capital gains taxes, and plans to realize the so-called 'national dividend' scheme — an idea that drew criticism as socialist thinking," Choe said. "The government must remember that its job is not to conduct anti-market experiments that artificially redistribute outcomes, but to create an environment where more investment, more innovation and more jobs can take root."
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