Former President Moon Jae-in said on the 19th, “It is time to break away from the fabricated myths that ‘conservative governments are good at security’ and ‘conservative governments are better at economics.'”
In his greeting at the event commemorating the 5th anniversary of the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration held at Building 63 in Yeouido this afternoon, former President Moon claimed, “We can confirm that the security performance and economic performance were significantly better under the progressive governments led by Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in.” He said this.
During his first official schedule in Seoul after leaving office, he directly criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s security and economic policy and stance.
Former President Moon emphasized, “If we compare successive governments at a macro level, from the Kim Young-sam government, which started the civilian government, to the Yoon Seok-yeol government, the economic performance during the period when inter-Korean relations were relatively peaceful was always better than when it was not.”
He continued, “We say that we are the world’s top 10 economic powerhouses, but in reality, the size of our economy, or GDP (gross domestic product), entered the world’s top 10 only during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations.” He added, “Last year, our economy ranked 13th in the world. “I was pushed out of the top 10,” he said.
He added, “Almost all economic indicators under the Moon Jae-in administration, including export growth, trade surplus size, foreign exchange reserves, prices, stock index, and foreign investment, were better than now.”
Former President Moon said, “The Moon Jae-in administration recorded the largest fiscal surplus in history for two years before the coronavirus, and the fiscal deficit, like all other countries, is to protect people’s safety and livelihood during the coronavirus period.” He added, “Rather, the fiscal deficit was incurred by the current government.” “It has grown even larger, and there is a fundamental difference in that the deficit is also due to a decrease in tax revenue due to the economic slump and a tax cut for the rich,” he pointed out.
Regarding the current government’s foreign policy, “If we focus too much on factional diplomacy and lose the balance of diplomacy, we may lose more than we gain in terms of security and economy,” and added, “A delicate diplomatic strategy is needed that carries out balanced diplomacy while emphasizing alliances as much as possible.” “He emphasized.
In addition, regarding inter-Korean relations, he said, “It is sad and complicated to think of the current inter-Korean relations, which have collapsed to the point where one wonders when such a day has ever existed,” and added, “It is regrettable that further progress was not made in the Pyongyang Joint Declaration.”
Regarding the movement by some in the ruling party to scrap the inter-Korean military agreement, former President Moon said, “Even now that inter-Korean relations are collapsing again, the inter-Korean military agreement is serving as the last safety pin to prevent inter-Korean military conflict.” “It would be irresponsible to remove it,” he argued.
He emphasized, “Among all previous governments, the Roh Moo-hyun administration and the Moon Jae-in administration are the only ones that have not had a single military conflict.”
The event was attended by former Prime Ministers Lee Nak-yeon and Chung Sye-kyun, former Blue House chiefs of staff Noh Young-min and Yoo Young-min, former Blue House policy chief Kim Sang-jo, former Blue House special adviser for unification, foreign affairs and security Moon Chung-in, former Blue House spokesperson Park Gyeong-mi, and former Blue House protocol secretary Tak Hyeon-min, among other Moon Jae-in administration figures. .
Representatives Yoon Young-chan, Kim Eui-gyeom, Ko Min-jeong, Kim Young-bae, Jin Seong-jun, Han Byeong-do, and Min Hyeong-bae, all from the Blue House, as well as Park Beom-gye, former Minister of Justice, and Kwon Chil-seung, former Minister of SMEs and Startups안전놀이터, also attended.
Lawmakers who were classified as pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) faction, including Democratic Party floor leader Park Kwang-on and Kim Tae-nyeon, Yoon Ho-jung, and Kang Byeong-won, were also present.
Former Ministers of Unification Lim Dong-won and Lee Jae-jeong, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Unification Han Wan-sang, and Kim Dae-jung Academy President Baek Hak-soon gave presentations on the efforts of previous governments for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Former President Moon, accompanied by his wife, First Lady Kim Jung-sook, is also scheduled to attend the dinner following the event.