Jeong Jeom-sik takes aim at Kim Yong-beom, saying growth recovery is credit of exporters, not government

'Everything good is thanks to the government' — PPP lawmaker slams Cheong Wa Dae policy chief's self-praise

Consumption voucher effect called a 'momentary blip' as opposition sharpens policy critique

[Jeong Jeom-sik's Facebook]
[Jeong Jeom-sik's Facebook]

People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik said Sunday that "the three sources of instability — stocks, real estate and prices — are entirely the fault of the Lee Jae Myung government."

Writing on Facebook that day, Jeong directed his remarks at Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom, saying, "Get a grip. The recovery in growth is the achievement of export companies such as semiconductor firms, not the government."

The post was a rebuttal to a piece Kim had written Saturday in which he argued that the economic growth recovery had solidified over the Lee Jae Myung government's first year and that the administration should now shift its policy focus from growth to distribution.

Jeong said he was struck by "how far removed Cheong Wa Dae's perception is from reality." He added that the presidential office was in the grip of "irresponsible stubbornness — the belief that everything that goes right is thanks to the government and everything that goes wrong is someone else's fault."

Jeong went on to say it was "deeply regrettable" that someone who, as the economic policy control tower, bore considerable responsibility for the decline in President Lee's approval rating was still engaging in self-congratulation so out of step with public sentiment.

"Kim's attitude — implying that the Bank of Korea's upward revision of its growth outlook is somehow to the Lee government's credit — is unacceptable," Jeong said. "The higher growth forecast is entirely due to the semiconductor supercycle, and it is an achievement entirely of our companies."

He also criticized the government for enacting the Yellow Envelope Act, which he said encouraged strikes at industrial sites, and for introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs, which he said threw the stock market into turmoil and hobbled businesses.

Jeong further said that Kim had boasted that consumer sentiment had "recovered rapidly" thanks to the livelihood-recovery consumption voucher program, but dismissed the claim. "The consumption vouchers produced nothing more than a momentary blip," he said. "Go out on the street and ask any self-employed person whether the vouchers actually revived the economy."


hongi@heraldcorp.com