President Lee Jae-myung: "We Must Build a Society Where Youth Can Reap Opportunities Equal to Their Effort"

President Lee Jae-myung presided over the "Youth Budget Unboxing" event introducing major youth support programs for next year, emphasizing, "Before telling young people to work harder, we must create a society where they can gain opportunities proportional to the effort they put in."

During his opening remarks at the event held at the Blue House on the afternoon of today (the 28th), President Lee pointed out, "Back when I was growing up, the saying 'hardships in youth are worth buying' carried weight, but now, saying such things makes you worry about getting slapped, and anxiety has spread that once you fall, you can never get back up."

He diagnosed the cause, stating, "The reason is that society's volatility has decreased, shifting from a dynamic society to a stable one, and turning into a low-growth society with fewer opportunities. While this is development for society as a whole, it has become a difficult situation for its members."

He added, "Looking across generations, the younger generation has become the most vulnerable class. The older generation thinks young people have bright futures and can do anything if given a chance, but (in reality) there are no opportunities. As opportunities diminish, competition becomes painful, and friends become targets of war."

President Lee emphasized, "Before telling young people to work harder, we must build a society where they can secure opportunities in line with their efforts, and the most important among those is economic opportunity."

He then stated, "The most important task for the government is to expand the pie. We are focusing national capabilities on turning downward graphs into upward ones so that the economy grows upward. Only when the pie grows and opportunities increase can subsequent efforts to figure out how to fairly distribute them become effective."

He also urged, "We must look back at whether past government policies truly stemmed from the needs of young people or if they were designed for the convenience of the government as a supplier, and boldly fix what needs fixing. We must ponder hundreds of times over, thinking as if it were the work of our own sons and daughters."

President Lee promised, "Even I, saying this, sometimes find myself thinking when talking with our younger generation, 'No matter what, I still cannot escape being an old-fashioned authoritarian (kkondae).' I will make endless efforts."

This marks the first time the government has explained major budgets and projects prior to officially announcing the budget bill.

It is all the more unusual to hold a separate event focusing specifically on the "youth budget."

This is interpreted as part of the government's continuous, focused youth-centered policies and strategy announcements aimed at rebounding the approval ratings of the 2030 generation, which have recently shown a downward trend.

(Photo provided by the Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.