Gov. Lee Jae-myung: "First Year of My Governorship Was a Time of Sowing Seeds of Fairness"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Hong Sung-gil] Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung said on June 27 that "my first year in office was a time of sowing seeds of fairness," and added that "I will demonstrate that when the world becomes fair, people's lives change and the economy revives."

On the occasion of his first anniversary in office, Gov. Lee released a press statement at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building with the title "A society where following the rules leads to benefit; a fair world created by Gyeonggi Province." He emphasized that "over the past year, Gyeonggi Province has worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for fairness, peace, and welfare, and among these, the top priority value has always been 'fairness.'"

Gov. Lee stated in particular that "there is no hope in an unfair society where cheating, privilege, and shortcuts have become synonymous with ability," and that "creating a society where everyone is given equal opportunities, fair competition is possible, and people receive their rightful share commensurate with their contributions is the most important and urgent task."

He cited policies pursued over the past year for 'fairness,' including expanding the scope of activities of Gyeonggi Province's special judicial police to cover loan sharking and false real estate listings, and a task force for customized delinquent tax management that has uncovered tax evasion and delinquency to realize tax justice while providing relief to those in financial hardship and practicing the principle of protecting the weak and restraining the strong.

As fairness policies embedded in welfare, he cited youth basic income, provision of eco-friendly healthy fruits for preschool children, school dentist programs for elementary students, free school uniform support, and postpartum care expense support. Regarding youth basic income, he said it reflects a desire to provide equal opportunities to young people living in this era and to cheer them on in their future.

As fairness policies for solving real estate issues, he explained achievements including disclosure of construction costs for government-commissioned projects, deferred payment systems for public apartment sales, and the promotion of 200,000 long-term public rental housing units.

Gov. Lee said that the organizational restructuring passed by the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly on June 25 also contains the value of fairness, citing the establishment of the "Fairness Bureau" and the "Labor Bureau" as examples. He expressed his intention to have the Fair Consumer Division work toward creating a fair economic ecosystem through cooperation and fair trade between large and small enterprises, and to place the Labor Policy Division, Labor Rights Division, and Foreign Workers Policy Division under the Labor Bureau to realize the spirit of protecting the weak and restraining the strong through improving the labor rights of irregular workers and providing relief to workers.

Gov. Lee continued by introducing operating room CCTV installation and expansion of basic income discussion, saying "within just one year, Gyeonggi Province's efforts are creating a butterfly effect for a fair world across the Republic of Korea," and added "Gyeonggi Province's yearning for a fair world is changing the Republic of Korea."

Regarding future plans, he emphasized that he will work toward fair growth and fostering future industries, job creation, and revitalizing the regional economy.

He then announced news of attracting a semiconductor cluster to Yongin, creating the world's largest Siheung artificial surfing wave park, normalizing the Hwaseong International Theme Park project, and the Gyeonggi Goyang Broadcasting and Video Valley groundbreaking in 2020, saying "going forward, I will concentrate on nurturing semiconductor, biotech, and AI/data convergence industries as future growth engines, and by advancing the five tech valleys, I will lead not only Gyeonggi Province but the entire Republic of Korea toward growth."

He also expressed confidence that while promoting the creation of 110,000 public jobs annually, Gyeonggi regional currency, which surpassed 100 billion won in issuance within two months, will greatly contribute to revitalizing small businesses and self-employed merchants and activating alleyway commerce and the regional economy.