Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician, author and former civil rights lawyer who served as the 35th Governor of Gyeonggi Province between 2018 and 2021. Lee is the nominee of the ruling Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.

He became a civil rights lawyer after being influenced by Roh Moo-hyun, who later became president of South Korea. After entering politics, Lee was defeated in the Seongnam mayoral election in 2006 and the South Korean legislative election in 2008, but was elected in the Seongnam mayoral election in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. He served as Mayor of Seongnam until 15 March 2018, before running in and winning the election to become Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lee resigned as Governor of Gyeonggi Province on 25 October 2021 to run for president.

Early life
Lee was Born in 1964 in Andong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, the fifth of seven children. According to the report card for the first grade of elementary school that Lee Jae-myung himself released, he was quite stubborn and his grades were normal, but he played well with his classmates and was courageous. He also said that he couldn't go to school on rainy or snowy days because the school is about 5 km away from his house and he had to cross a stream in the middle. 

When Lee was in 5th grade, he said he couldn't go on a school trip because he was born to a poor farming family, so his teacher came and convinced him to take him for hours. It was thanks to the consideration of the principal at the time. Due to his family's financial difficulties, he couldn't prepared drawing paper or crayons, so when his friends went to an art contest, he cleaned the school bathroom instead.

He did not attend middle and high school because the South Korean public school system only covered up to primary education at the time. To make matters worse his father squandered all his fortune on gambling, so Lee's family left Andong, their hometown, and move to Seongnam, when Lee graduated from elementary school.

Child factory worker 
In his early teenage years he began work in a factory located in the city of Seongnam, an industrial planned city built during the administration of Park Chung-hee to concentrate industry outside of Seoul. At that time, Seongnam was mostly populated by the lower class, who were often moved there through political coercion.

Like other children from poor families, who had a difficult family situation, Lee went to a handmade necklace factory instead of middle school. However, after the necklace factory went bankrupt and he did not receive a salary, he moved to a place called 'Dongma Rubber', which was a fairly stable company. Lee at this time was not old enough to work in South Korea, so he worked under various pseudonyms. Meanwhile, Lee suffered his first industrial accident in which he injured his finger at Dongma Rubber.

After the accident, Lee left Dongma Rubber and entered the 'Daeyang Industry'. Here he suffered his second industrial accident, that press machine crushed his wrist and crushed his joint. At that time, the factory had frequent accidents, so Lee continued to work with a sore arm without going to the hospital. However, by the time he was sixteen, the problem became serious as he grew 15 centimeters tall and the bones of his wrists and arms grew. As his broken bones couldn't keep up with the growth of other bones, so the arm was twisted and the growth plate was damaged in the part where the joint was crushed. In the end, he was judged to be disabled grade 6 and was exempted from military service. He is a contemporary registered disabled person. 

When Lee was on his way to work at Daeyang Industry, he came across a group of students wearing school uniforms and he developed a desire to study. After that, he enrolled in the GED academy. In this process, he received the consideration of the GED academy teacher. When Lee said that he could no longer attend the academy due to lack of money, the teacher gave him a free class. Then, in 1978, he passed the high school entrance examination and obtained a middle school diploma. Two years later, in 1980, he passed the university entrance examination and obtained a high school diploma.

This kind of poverty that he suffered as a child became the basis for forming the political philosophy of 'Eokgang Buyak', which intends to moderate the privilege and foul play-driven desires of the powerful and embracing the lives of the weak through politics.

Civil rights attorney 
Through self-study Lee received a high school equivalency degree Lee was accepted into Chung-Ang University on a scholarship and studied law.

In 1986, upon graduating from college, he passed the bar exam and entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Like many members of the Democratic Party of South Korea, Lee aligned himself against the authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, the general who seized power via a coup in 1980 and stepped down when South Korea democratized in 1987.

By the time Lee graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he listened to a lecture by lawyer Roh Moo-hyun, who would later become the President of the Republic of Korea. Before listening to Roh's lecture, he tried to choose a judge or prosecutor who could enjoy various benefits, but he was impressed by Roh's lecture and chose the path of a human rights and labor lawyer, setting up his practice in Seongnam. In that, he followed the late Roh Moo-hyun (president from 2003-2008) and Roh’s disciple, Moon Jae-in (who took power in 2017 and leaves office in 2022).

After opening his own lawyer's office, Lee worked with the heads of labour counseling centers in Incheon and Gwangju to engage in 'Lawyers for a Democratic Society', mainly in charge of advocating for labour and human rights. In 1995, he also started a civic movement as a founding member of the 'Seongnam Citizens' Association'. After that, he raised the suspicion of 'change of use of Bundang Baekgung and Jeongja district' and made a name for himself as a lawyer and social activist by digging into the 'Park View preferential sale case in Bundang'.

Meanwhile, two general hospitals in Seongnam were closed. Accordingly, Lee acted as a co-representative of the 'Seongnam Municipal Hospital Establishment Promotion Committee' and started the movement to establish Seongnam Municipal Hospital with the citizens of Seongnam. However, the city council, which was then controlled by the conservative Grand National Party, rejected the residents' initiative ordinance in just 47 seconds. Lee protested to the Grand National Party city councilors and was wanted on charges of obstructing the execution of special duties. Afterwards, Lee realized that he could not change the society through social movements, and he decided to enter politics.

Political career
In 23 August 2005, he joined then-ruling Uri Party, a predecessor of the Democratic Party of Korea and declared his candidacy for mayor of Seongnam. He ran as a candidate in the local elections in 2006 and ran for mayor of Seongnam, but was defeated by 23.75% of the votes due to poor public opinion about the Uri Party and Roh administration at the time.

In the 2007 presidential election, Lee Jae-myung served as the senior deputy chief of the Office of the Presidential Candidate Chung Dong-young of the Grand Unified Democratic New Party. In the 2008 general election, he applied for a nomination in the constituency of Seongnam Jungwon A, Gyeonggi, but was defeated by Cho Sung-jun in the primary election, and was nominated in the Seongnam Bundang A, Gyeonggi. However, Lee suffered from another defeat, recording 33.23% of the votes, in many unfavorable circumstances. Such as the fact that the election was held immediately after the inauguration of conservative president Lee Myung-bak and Bundang A was a traditional home turf of the conservative party.

After losing the general election, he served as the Democratic Party's deputy spokesperson at the request of the Democratic Party's leader Chung Sye-kyun, who later served as the Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister of korea.

Mayor of Seongnam
Lee earned his political reputation during his tenure as Seongnam's mayor. As Mayor of Seongnam, he gained recognition for creating Seongnam's social welfare program, widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive social welfare programs in the nation for the city's elderly citizens and youth.

He significantly improved the city's financial situation. Shortly after his 2010 inauguration as the mayor of Seongnam, Lee announced a moratorium on payments of debt incurred from developing Pangyo Techno Valley. At the end of his first term in 2014, he announced that the city was no longer under moratorium. While Lee was praised by some for this announcement, others criticized Lee and accused him of pulling a political stunt. Critics called the initial moratorium declaration unnecessary because the city had never been forced to repay the debt immediately, and the most of the debt had been largely covered by the significant 2.5-fold increase the city's municipal bond assets.

At the same time, he used the money saved to expand social welfare programs, such as offering a universal basic income for young people, free school uniforms and free postnatal care. These programs later became the foundation of Lee's key political principle of a universal basic income for all.

In addition, he is noted for his decision to ban dogmeat and to shut down dog slaughtering facilities in the Moran Market. The dog slaughtering facilities had long been a subject of heated debate, as opinions clashed over their morality, the rights of animals, and their environmental impact, as well as over the survival of farms breeding dogs for meat, making the issue a long-fought problem for the city government. In 2016, Lee, who is an animal rights advocate, pushed ahead with the shutdown after signing an agreement with shop owners in the market that prohibited the display and slaughter of live dogs at the market. In doing so, the city also helped dog meat shop owners transition to engaging in other types of business, but did not offer any direct compensation for their closure.

Buoyed by favorable responses in his constituency, he served another four-year term as Seongnam's mayor until 2018.

2017 Presidential Campaign
While serving as Mayor, Lee made a presidential bid in 2017 after former President Park Geun-hye was impeached on corruption allegations but lost to current President Moon Jae-in,  then-former Democratic Party Chairman, in the Democratic Party's primary for President of South Korea in the 2017 South Korean presidential election.

However, he was considered one of the three most important potential candidates in the run-up to the election, Lee received third place in the Democratic primary behind former party chair and National Assembly member (and eventual winner) Moon Jae-in and Ahn Hee-jung, the Governor of South Chungcheong Province. Lee is known to belong to the progressive-wing within the Democratic Party.

Governor of Gyeonggi Province
Following his loss in the presidential election, Lee ran for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, which encompasses much of the Seoul Capital Area and has population over 13 million.Lee has received acclaim for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic as Governor.

In March 2020, when the nation's first COVID-19 wave took place, following an infection cluster among followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Christian cult, Lee himself visited the residence of the organization's founder in Gyeonggi Province, whom had been refusing to get a coronavirus test or submit correct information about who had attended the church's gatherings for contact tracing. The governor warned the founder of the potential legal and administrative actions that would be taken against him, an action that led to the cult leader's surrender.

He also announced a special order for all foreigners working in Gyeonggi Province to be tested for COVID-19  Seoul also announced similar policies but changed them to recommendation - practically withdrew them - after facing criticism. Nonetheless, Lee's special order went on mandating its 340 thousands foreign workers to get tested - resulted in finding 329 new positive cases among them.

In February 2021, a year after the first Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting was held to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revealed that Lee attended three of these meetings, well below 68.5 the averaged number of other heads of provinces and metropolitan cities attended the meetings. In response to the criticisms rising from this, Lee said in April 2021 that he used his time effectively in addressing more critical issues and an hour of Gyeonggi provincial governor is 13.8 million hours (just like its population). Chung Sye-kyun publicly shared his frustration that Lee would not have made such statement if he is well aware of government's efforts in contaminating the virus and vaccinating the public.

This year, Lee was partially at odds with the central government over his plan to provide COVID-19 disaster relief funds to all residents of Gyeonggi Province. 
Lee himself is also proud of his drive to carry out government projects that he commits to. Lee often said, "I have kept an average of 95 percent of my campaign promises while serving the public", "Even if I might have to experience a political loss, I believe in the collective intelligence of the public, and push forward on the right things in order to bring about results. That is my style".

2022 presidential campaign
Lee declared his bid in the 2022 presidential election in July 2021, and emphasized policies that would ensure equality for people of all backgrounds in the nation, and heighten Korea's standing abroad as a nation that provides public goods for global communities. "We are situated in a time of a great transformation," Lee said in a televised address immediately following his nomination. "My first objective, if I am elected president, would be to help Korea take the lead in fighting climate change, the global pandemic and the ever-speedy technological revolution. My second objective would be to help this nation achieve economic growth during this time of great struggle. When it comes to policies to boost the people's welfare and well-being, there is no left or right; there is no ideological differences. I am ready to try anything and everything if it means the people can lead better livelihoods."

Lee became the nominee of the Democratic Party of Korea on 10 October 2021. Lee won a majority of the votes in the primary and made it directly to the presidential election without a runoff. In his acceptance speech, Lee expressed his ambition to create a new Republic of Korea through reform and practice.

Political positions

Economic and Social policy

Lee is a politician with a prominent centre-left tendency within DPK. Lee advocates New Deal liberalism economically. Lee has shown strong respect for Franklin D. Roosevelt. On 10 October 2021, Lee said "We will change the graph of economic growth upward with a strong state-led economic revival policy. I'll learn from Roosevelt, who overcame the Great Depression with left-wing policy". 

Lee announced his overarching economic policy vision as "Transformative and Fair Growth". Lee's view on the Korean economy is that many problems have arisen from the slowdown of economic growth. Low growth leads to fewer opportunities for younger generations, causing fiercer competition and social unrest. This is especially relevant for Korea, as the rules and institutions that have been designed for a high-growth catch-up economy no longer work well for an advanced economy.

Lee asserts that the slowdown of economic growth is related to the unfairness and polarization in many areas of the economy, for example, unfair transactions and the large gap between big monopolies and SMEs, platforms and irregular workers, inequalities in the real estate market, etc. Unfair conventions distort people's economic incentives in a way that encourages rent-seeking activities, causing serious inefficiency in resource allocation. 

Another aspect that Lee sees vital for the Korean economy is recent global trends in technological progress, such as the energy and digital transformation, which could cause crises or provide new opportunities depending on policy responses.

Following theses views, Lee proposes a new growth strategy, namely, Transformative and Fair Growth, which comprises a set of policies to make the economy fairer and more transformative. Innovations and transformation can be expedited on the basis of right incentives and fairer institutions. This strategy includes industrial policies for a "Green New Deal" and digital transformation, education reforms to help people adopt to the new environment, reforms to rebalance market power among economic entities, measures for fair competition and labor market justice, and social safety nets to share risks related to the transformation.

The overall policy stance is close to social liberal and populist, but there are also some economic liberal tendencies, such as real estate tax cuts and partial corporate deregulation.

Universal Basic Income

One of Lee's signature 2022 presidential campaign pledges is his promise to implement universal basic income. He has implemented various basic income programs for residents during his time as mayor and governor.

During the 2022 campaign, Lee promised to introduce basic income schemes for young people, farmers and fishermen first, and then expand it to a universal income, with a plan to gradually increase the amount that the government pays. As part of this plan, Lee seeks to link the income to a carbon tax and land tax.

Lee promised to introduce a universal basic income scheme at the national level for the first time in the world. He pledged to distribute 1 million won (about US$900) per year to all citizens and 2 million won (about US$1,800) per year to the youth aged between 19 and 29. Basic income schemes for farmers, children, elderly, and the disabled would be also considered. Although the basic income program will start at a modest level, he has indicated that the long-term goal is to increase the amount of basic income to 0.5 million won (about US$450) per month, or 6 million won (about US$5,400) per year. He proposes that the budget for basic income will be largely financed by land value tax and carbon tax. He stresses that introduction of these taxes is necessary to curb real estate speculations and to reduce carbon emissions.

Public housing
Lee has promised to provide at least 1 million "basic home" public housing units offered at lower prices. Lee believes in strengthening the concept of public land ownership in order to battle Korea's rising housing costs stemming from rampant real estate speculation.

Government-backed loans
Lee advocates for "basic loans," which will allow all citizens to take out government loans of up to 10 million won ($8,570) at an interest rate of around 3 percent, regardless of their credit status. Lee advocates for these government-backed loan to the public as a safer alternative to borrowing money from loan sharks or private money lenders.

Technology
Lee emphasises the importance of data in digital transformation. While working as a Governor of Gyeonggi Province, he ordered that administrative official document should be used official and open document format, ODF, instead of the previous Hangeul software. He also implemented the world's first data dividend, which returns the portion of the profit created by data related business to the consumers who actually created the data. Also, he used a data analysis to crack down on African swine fever and illegal construction companies, and provided the mobile app that informs the movement COVID-19 confirmed patients without violating privacy and revealing personal information, using data encryption technology. He argues that the monopoly situation of big platform companies with network effects could be as an obstacle for fair growth of digital sector, and argues that workers employed by platform enterprises should have new types of employment contracts so that they could be better protected in the digital era.

Lee states that South Korea should have future-oriented economic policies that take into account the role of artificial intelligence and its effect on society. He has stated that this shift will require government support to alleviate difficulties that might arise from the economic adjustment.

Education
According to Lee's election promise, Lee plans to avoid lining up with grades and numbers, and proceed in the direction of strengthening students capabilities. In middle school, Lee said that teachers will figure out what is lacking through summative evaluation, and that he planned to launch basic math curriculum through the 'high school credit system' in high school to make up for the underachievement. He is also considering introducing AI-based personalized learning and evaluation in some subjects, such as mathematics, to strengthen individualized learning and evaluation throughout elementary and middle school.

In addition, he proposed an 'outdoor school' that fosters the challenges, adventures, cooperation, and curiosity necessary for adolescent growth. It promised to prepare and introduce a curriculum of about 10 hours per semester.

Youth policy
Lee promises universal basic income and universal basic loans specifically for youth. Also, he plans to provide employment benefits to youth that voluntarily resigned from work once for a lifetime, in order to support youth in job searching and career development. He also plans to lower student loan interest rates, and allow university tuition to be proportional to the credits students take each semester. 
Lastly, he plans to provide universal basic housing to youth and reform the housing market to help low income youth purchase their own housing.

LGBT rights
Lee Jae-myung said on November 29, 2021, that homosexuality should be recognized as it is, and that discrimination against homosexuals is no different from discrimination against skin color or disability. He also acknowledged the need for anti-discrimination laws and said legislation should be made through social consensus.

Feminism
South Korean media criticize (even though he is a centre-left social liberal politician) Lee Jae-myung for being hostile to feminism, no different from Yoon Seok-youl. In fact, Lee Jae-myung, the 2022 Democratic presidential candidate, distributed an article to participants of the National Election Commission on 8 November 2021, saying, "If Lee Jae-myung differentiates himself from the Moon Jae-in government's feminist-first policy, he can gain support from young men". In addition, on 10 November, he shared a post written by his supporter on DC Inside on his Facebook page, which read, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung, please stop the 'feminism of madness' (of the Moon Jae In government and liberals), If you promise to do so, I will vote with great pleasure".

South Korea's progressive politician Sim Sang-jung, who opposes social conservatism, criticized Lee Jae-myung as a clear "anti-feminist". Ahn Cheol Soo, a centre-right conservative liberal, also criticized Lee Jae-myung's pledge on gender as "misogyny".

However, some point out that Lee Jae-myung's remarks on feminism are more of a populist investigation than a real policy objection to women's rights. Lee Jae-myung supported pro-choice and advocated expanding the rights of abortion women in medical insurance. In this regard, it received positive reviews from feminists.

Foreign policy
Lee announced a comprehensive foreign policy plan on 22 August 2021. Lee emphasized that the aim of foreign policy should be focused on improving the quality of the people and it should be practical to enhance national interest.

North Korea
Lee has stated that he will continue the efforts of previous liberal presidents to conduct peace talks with North Korea, citing President Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy, President Roh Moo-hyun's summit with Kim Jong-il, and President Moon Jae-in's peace talks with North Korea.

Lee favors the approach of conditional rollback of sanctions on North Korea in attempting to denuclearize North Korea. While he believes in easing of sanctions, he also advocates immediate restoration of sanctions if North Korea fails to keep promises of denuclearization.

United States
Lee supports good trade relations with the US. He also believes in good relations with the US military, which has its main bases in his province. However, he has criticized the US-deployed THAAD anti-missile system for drawing Chinese economic retaliation. Later, he said that as the THAAD is already deployed, we need to make a new decision considering the US-ROK alliance and the progress of denuclearization of North Korea.

China
Lee has stated that while the United States is South Korea’s only ally, China is also a strategic partner. He has said that “There is no reason to narrow our range of movement by choosing one or the other side. It is competent diplomacy to make the U.S. and China choose to cooperate with us.”

Japan
In relations with Japan, Lee promotes a "two track strategy" to actively promote economic, social, and diplomatic exchange and cooperation while also resolutely dealing with historical issues, territorial sovereignty, and the life and safety of the people.

Criticism 
Unlike ordinary South Korean liberals, Lee Jae-myung often speaks favorably of former dictator Park Chung-hee. Lee Jae-myung said on 2 November 2021, "President Park Chung-hee created the Gyeongbu Expressway to open the way for manufacturing-oriented industrialization," adding, "The Lee Jae-myung administration will build an 'energy highway' that will open a new future while speeding through the decarboned era." The Dong-A Ilbo, a conservative media outlet in South Korea, said Lee Jae-myung's state-led policies are closer to Park Chung-hee's authoritarianism than left-wing populism based on social equality.

Lee Jae-myung evaluated Chun Doo-hwan's economic performance favorably on December 11, 2021, which was greatly criticized by South Korea's liberal camp. Justice Party's Sim Sang-jung criticized Lee Jae-myung's remarks, saying, "You seem to have become a presidential candidate for the PPP while trying to differentiate yourself from the Moon Jae In government", and PPP presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl also sarcastically said, "You can be our party's presidential candidate". In an editorial, Hankyoreh, a South Korean centre-left liberal journalist who was critical of the dictatorship in the past, strongly criticized Lee Jae-myung for forgetting his (liberal) "values" to win the votes of conservative voters.

Controversies 

"Unanswered Questions," an investigative journalism television programme run by Seoul Broadcasting System, aired an episode questioning the links between the local Mafia organisation in Seongnam city and Lee and Eun Su-mi, current mayor of the city.

Lee was accused of giving up "Happiness," the dog he adopted during his time as a mayor of the city, when moving into his new-residency as Gyeonggi provincial governor leaving the dog to Seongnam city hall. Lee explained that the dog was adopted by the city not by an individual and later re-adopted to a new family.

During the 2018 gubernatorial election, he received scrutiny following the confirmation of a long-rumored affair with actress Kim Boo-sun.

The real name of his corresponding Twitter account (08_hkkim) is "For Justice." Rep. Jeon Hae-chul sued the account, claiming it was run by Lee Jae-myung's wife during the party's primary for the Gyeeonggi governor's race. The initials are the same as Kim Hye-kyung, and various other personal information matched, raising suspicions that she was the person in question. Hyegyeonggung Kim is also nicknamed for this reason.

In July 2020 the Supreme Court found Lee not guilty of breaching campaign law during a television debate for Gyeonggi provincial governor. However, the Court and its lower courts found the allegation that Lee had attempted to admit his brother to a psychiatric hospital true, but Lee was not indicted for this. Citing freedom of expression and maximum respect for free, active discussions during political campaigns, the Supreme Court did not find Lee "actively" distorted the facts - and therefore did not breach campaign law - when he said no to the question asked about attempting to admit his brother to a mental hospital by an opposition candidate in a televised debate. Lee was represented by several lawyers including two former Supreme Court justices.

Prosecution's investigation 

On 11 December 2018, the prosecution indicted Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who was suspected of circulating false information under the Public Official Election Act of the Republic of Korea. His wife Kim Hye-kyung was not indicted, citing a lack of evidence. Two days before the expiration of the statute of limitations on the seventh election, the case against the couple was closed. After the police concluded that they believed the account belonged to Lee's spouse Kim, the case was transferred to and later struck down by the prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.

Electoral history

Primary election

Authored books

References

External links 
 Lee Jae-myung on Twitter

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1964 births
Chung-Ang University alumni
Living people
Mayors of Seongnam
Minjoo Party of Korea politicians
People from Andong
Populism in South Korea
South Korean lawyers
South Korean Protestants
Universal basic income in South Korea
South Korean politicians with physical disabilities