Opposition Parties Slam "Tears of the Public" as Kospi Plummets Below 5,000

Conservative opposition parties, including the People Power Party, slammed the government on November 6 as the Kospi index plunged below the 5,000 threshold, demanding the scrapping of the future response fund built on excess tax revenues and criticizing that "the public is shedding bloody tears due to forced stock market boosting."

Appearing on Maeil Shinmun's YouTube channel today, leader Jang Dong-hyeok pointed out, "While the impact of the U.S. midterm election results may be a factor, that is a condition faced by stock markets worldwide, pointing to a lack of preparation. The stock market had risen on a semiconductor boom, but now it is taking a direct hit."

He went on to criticize, "Because temporary tax revenues increased due to the semiconductor boom, isn't the future response fund a slush fund the government created to empty out completely within three years before this administration ends? Ultimately, pouring that fund into the stock market will only heighten market instability and uncertainty."

Floor Leader Lim이자 [Lim I-ja] blasted during a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, "The 9,000 Kospi, which relied on forced stock market boosting and a temporary semiconductor boom, was an illusion and a bubble. As soon as the bubble burst, the stock market was cut in half, and the assets of 14 million retail investors and the public are vanishing."

She also urged, "Blinded by optical illusions in semiconductor exports, the government has been self-congratulatory as if the economy has revived, obsessing solely over cash handouts and gathering votes. The pork-barrel future response fund created by relying on illusory excess tax revenues must be scrapped, and the money should be used to pay down the snowballing national debt."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min wrote on Facebook, "President Lee Jae-myung, who incited people to buy stocks when housing prices plummeted, and Kim Yong-beom, who made reckless remarks about the Kospi hitting 10,000, why are you keeping your mouths shut? Investigating and holding legally accountable the persons responsible for driving people into debt-financed stock investments, the persons responsible for blowing away the National Pension, and the persons responsible for introducing single-stock leverage ETFs is the first step toward normalizing the stock market."

Spokesperson Cho Yong-sul said in a commentary, "Do not even dream of taking credit for the government when the market was rising, only to shirk responsibility and blame others now that it is falling. Step up to formulate practical measures to secure balanced industrial competitiveness alongside a comprehensive reassessment of industries across the board."

Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok warned on Facebook, "Before political strife, a perfect storm is approaching. When uncertainty grows, it is right to steer fiscal policy focusing on fiscal soundness. The Lee Jae-myung administration must not choose the path of the grasshopper from the fable of the ant and the grasshopper."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also reprimanded on Facebook, saying, "Kospi 5,000 was a figure put forward as a national task by the Lee Jae-myung administration, and a target set and failed to be kept is worse than one never reached, because it contains the bloody tears of the public."

He also fiercely criticized, "The government allowed the National Pension to hold onto stocks it should have offloaded when prices were rising, further increasing its domestic stock weighting and going all-in on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. As a result, 182 trillion won evaporated in three and a half months, and we are now witnessing the price of gambling with the public's retirement."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.