People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo on Friday called on President Lee Jae Myung to address the stock market rout directly, saying Lee should go live on social media immediately to announce emergency economic measures.

Writing on his Facebook page, Ahn said the fallout from the US midterm elections was battering South Korea's economy. "Yesterday, the US NASDAQ plunged 5.52 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12 percent," he said.

Ahn said Kospi broke below the 5,000 mark shortly after the opening bell Friday and triggered a circuit breaker. He warned that the Democratic Party's sweep of both chambers of Congress was fueling concerns about tighter AI data center regulation and a pullback in investment. "Worries were already building about an AI investment bubble propped up by massive borrowing — and this has only made things worse," he said.

"The bigger problem is that our semiconductor industry is now in a state of emergency," Ahn said, adding that a collapse of the semiconductor sector during ongoing negotiations with the United States could also cloud key bilateral issues, including the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines.

Ahn questioned whether the government had done enough to prepare, noting that the US election date and its outcome were foreseeable variables. "What exactly did the government get ready for? Is there any measure beyond 'maintaining monitoring'?" he said.

Ahn also took aim at the timing of President Lee's personal YouTube channel launch. He said Lee had cited the economy's "very rapid improvement" as one of his happiest moments, and had told viewers not to worry about his health because he was sleeping well. "Was he mistaking the pale, panicked faces of citizens staring at their accounts for a green light on the economy?" Ahn said.

"People cannot sleep at night worrying about housing prices that rise by the day and share prices that fall by the day — is this really what the president of our country should be saying?" Ahn said. "I urge him to go live right now and announce emergency economic measures."


bigroot@heraldcorp.com