President Lee: 'Policies with Good Intentions That Harm Public Worse Than Doing Nothing'

▲ President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a meeting of senior secretaries at the presidential office on the 6th.

President Lee Jae-myung said, "Even a policy started with good intentions is worse than doing nothing if the public cannot feel its effects or if it instead harms their lives," adding, "We need an administration that always examines issues from the public's perspective and actively corrects anything without sanctuary if problems arise."

President Lee made the remarks during a meeting of senior secretaries he presided over at the presidential office, stating, "All achievements in state affairs are ultimately evaluated by the public, who are the sovereigns."

This remark is also interpreted as a message mindful of the recent social conflicts, such as sharply divided public opinion for and against the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers during the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act.

It can be seen as an order to make whether a policy causes harm to the public the most important criterion, and to boldly supplement and improve it if necessary.

President Lee also urged, "The second round of government work reports has concluded, and there are now about 1,400 days left in the administration's term. Please tie your shoelaces tightly once more and do your best," adding, "What is truly important from now on is prompt execution rather than grand blueprints or flashy blueprints."

At the same time, President Lee diagnosed, "The essence of democracy is the practice of popular sovereignty, and what forms the basis of the public's judgment is ultimately information," adding, "Only when information is objective and accurate can judgments also be accurate."

He then instructed, "Do not let a single erroneous report or malicious information at home and abroad slip by, and correct them," and ordered, "Respond strictly to acts of distributing fake information to distort and manipulate public opinion."

He also issued separate instructions regarding youth policies.

President Lee explained, "There are many types of youth policies, but there is a loud voice that there are not many major policies to solve core problems. We should consider reorganizing youth policies around core areas of life such as education, employment, income, assets, housing, and marriage."

At the same time, he said, "If necessary, lower the threshold for support so that more youths can benefit, and consider designing a support system that provides thicker support in areas where customized support is needed."

Furthermore, he requested, "There is criticism that youth systems are scattered across various ministries so that only those in the know use them, and there was also a case where some applicants experienced confusion and criticized the government due to misguidance during the screening process for the youth future savings," adding, "Please continuously supplement the system from the perspective of youth as consumers, not from the perspective of suppliers."

Regarding the recent continuous heatwaves, President Lee said, "It is a national climate disaster situation, and we must raise the response level to the maximum with a sense of tension higher than ever," adding, "Administrative power must be concentrated for safety in areas such as shabby rented housing districts, goshiwons (budget studio apartments), and construction sites."

In addition, he added, "More fundamentally, we must contribute to improving infrastructure such as water supply facilities, power grids, and heatwave response facilities to suit climate disasters, which have become the new normal. We also need to pay attention to building cooling facilities in traditional markets," and asked, "Please consider ways to reflect this in next year's budget bill."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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