Why Lee Jae-myung praised Park Chung Hee on the campaign trail

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Why Lee Jae-myung praised Park Chung Hee on the campaign trail

Published: 19 May. 2025, 19:33 Updated: 19 May. 2025, 19:56

PARK EUN-JEE
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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Left: Former President Park Chung Hee, who secured a third term, delivers his inaugural address in Seoul on July 1, 1971. Right: Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, pays his respects at the grave of former President Park Chung Hee at Seoul National Cemetery on April 28 during his presidential campaign. [PRESIDENTIAL ARCHIVES, LIM HYUN-DONG]

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

Judging by his economic rhetoric and campaign pledges alone, it might be hard to tell the political affiliation of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party (DP) front-runner.

Lee openly credited former President Park Chung Hee for his role in advancing Korea’s industrialization during his campaign last week, stating, “What do ideology or political camps matter? Whether it’s a Park Chung Hee policy or a Kim Dae-jung policy, it doesn’t matter.”

His remarks mark a clear departure from the platforms of progressive presidents and candidates who distanced themselves from the former president, widely considered a conservative.

On the other hand, Lee has not explicitly mentioned the redistribution of wealth via higher tax on the rich and big corporations — often at the center of liberal campaigns — on the campaign trail. It was notably absent from the latest presidential debate.

Things were different when he ran for president three years ago, when he pledged to distribute a universal basic income: 1 million won ($714) to all citizens 30 and older each year and 2 million won to those 19 to 29.

The rightward shift, experts say, aims to better absorb the center-right base while acknowledging that in the current political climate, universal basic income no longer has the appeal it once did.

Disillusionment of income-led growth

As a left-leaning candidate, Lee has departed from the playbook of past progressive contenders and remained tight-lipped about potential tax increases.

In fact, phrases like inequality or polarization were nowhere to be seen among his top 10 pledges submitted to the National Election Commission.

In the latest debate on May 18, Lee devoted a significant amount of time to addressing low economic growth and a slump in domestic spending.

“Only with growth can there be distribution, and growth without distribution is simply not sustainable,” Lee said while outlining his economic policy.

After the country's GDP contracted 0.2 percent in the January-March period, the unorthodox stance exposes the shortcomings of the income-focused growth strategy that DP-affiliated candidates have advocated in the past.

Security personnel stand guard in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, as Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung holds a campaign rally in the region on May 13. [YONHAP]

“During the 2022 election, basic income was a hallmark of Lee’s campaign,” said Joseph Yi, a political science professor at Hanyang University.

“However, its relative absence today likely reflects both political pragmatism and changing economic circumstances. The policy faced skepticism from fiscal conservatives, and even some within the progressive camp, due to concerns of feasibility and effectiveness. In the contexts of inflation, budget constraints and broader economic uncertainty, Lee appears to be prioritizing more targeted, fiscally cautious proposals,” Yi said in an email interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Former President Moon Jae-in’s vision of income-led growth, which envisioned that hiking the minimum wage would grow the economy, is a case in point.

But the average quarterly GDP growth during Moon’s term stood at 2.3 percent, the lowest among those of past presidents. That of former President Park Geun-hye, Moon’s conservative predecessor, was 3.1 percent.

Critics maintain that the steep hikes in minimum wage ended up burdening smaller merchants and damaging the employment rate after many resorted to layoffs or reducing working hours to cut costs. Advocates claim that the high minimum wage still reduced the gap between higher and lower income brackets.

Instead, Lee put support for AI at the forefront of his economic policy while DP-backed bills aimed at strengthening workplace safety and the rights of unionized workers took a back seat.

Winning conservative voters

Lee’s moves are designed to appeal to conservative voters with left-leaning voters already standing firm to support him.

“Even if Lee presents the policies that appear to favor conservative values, the left-leaning voters — whether staunch or mild — will vote for Lee anyway,” said Jhee Byong-kuen, a political science professor at Chosun University. “What matters is how he will bring those in the right, and his remarks and campaign pledges are intended to win over their hearts.”

Since the DP tends to favor big government principles with higher budgets, tax hikes often fund increased spending.

Lee, however, avoids directly addressing about the possibility of increasing levies and even went a step further to reduce the proportion of income earners exempt from income tax, driving a decline in tax revenue.

“They’re actually talking about tax cuts instead,” said Lee Jun-han, political science professor at Incheon National University. “Likewise, when the economy is struggling, it’s even harder to win an election.”

But Lee's approach has left many scratching their heads, because the candidate has yet to address how he will fund the pledges that require hefty spending.

“I am really curious how we will make his pledges, like creating a 100 trillion won fund for AI, happen,” Jhee said, “A candidate is supposed to address financing measures in campaign pledges submitted to National Election Commission. But I couldn’t figure out his strategy from the statement.”

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]